Legend of the Western Miko
by Omnicurls
Summary: After Kagome learns why there are no demons in the future, the well opens and allows the miko to, once again, travel to the feudal era. But she finds herself trapped in a strange world with only Sesshomaru as company. The two are forced into an adventure that changes the future of both humans and demons alike.
1. The Last Daiyoukai

**The Last Daiyoukai**

Barely passing high school had been hard. Not getting into a single University had been even harder. But waking up, day after day, knowing her future stopped at P.E. teacher was hardest for the shikon miko.

Pulling the ribbon out of her hair, she sighed as she rolled her shoulders back to ease the tension that had built up throughout the day. She shoved the ribbon into her pocket, zipped up her jacket and turned up her collar in preparation for the rain she could her pattering loudly outside. She did not have an umbrella so she would simply have to put up with the freezing rain drenching her to the bone. 'If I did not catch pneumonia in the feudal era, I won't catch it now.' She said to herself as she let her mind wander to the now fond memories and she and her friends trekking across Japan in the pouring rain, all in the name of stopping a crazed demon. A small smile formed on her lips, but the crippling sense of purposelessness that followed was enough to wipe away any trace of happiness. She pushed aside all her feelings, good or bad, and picked up her sport's bag. There was no use on dwelling in the past.

"Miko." The form of address locked her where she stood. No one knew she was a miko.

She turned around sharply and stared suspiciously at the man standing in the doorway. He was tall and lean with rain matted brown hair and bright green eyes. "You are the Shikon Miko, right?" He repeated as he walked towards her.

Kagome did not reply, but instead continued to stare at the man as she tried to run through all the possible reasons why he would even believe the Shikon Miko, a person reduced to the realm of folklore, was real and was her.

"We need your help." He said. His body was shaking from the cold but his voice remained strong and even.

"We being?" Kagome asked slowly, her mind still furiously trying to figure out just how this strange, tired looking man knew who she was and where to find her.

He let his youkai flare and Kagome stumbled backwards. "Y-you, but how?" She breathed, her eyes wide with surprise and uncertainty. For months after the well closed she had kept her reiki spread out in hopes she would encounter a demon somewhere in the modern world. But she never had. Eventually she gave up, spreading her reiki once every few weeks, then once every few months, and now she barely did because there was obviously no point. Or so she had thought. The man shivering in front of her was proof that she, in her search, had missed something.

Gathering herself, Kagome squared her shoulders and put on her best interrogatory voice, "Youkai do not exist in this time, so who are you?"

"We exist. At least, I Lord Hiromasa of the North, exist." The bitterness in his voice was unmissable. "It was in our search for _you_ that our numbers dwindled from tens to just me. Humans, as per their nature, took advantage of the fact that we had sunk low enough to need them. Miko after miko lured us, claiming to be you, and destroyed us." He was purposefully being careless; a part of him hoped she was another hateful miko who would put him out of the miserable, lonely life he had been living for the past decade.

From the look in his eyes alone Kagome could tell her hated her. Yet he had not so much as threatened her. Either he truly needed her help or his plan was more elaborate than it needed to be. Yes, she was a miko, but she was also alone; from the strength of his youkai alone she knew he could easily overpower her.

"What do you want from me?"

He had stopped shivering and was now staring at her through narrowed eyes, as though trying to evaluate the truth in her words. "Demons began to disappear around the time of Naraku. We thought it was his doing, but it persisted even after you defeated him. Then a hundred years later, mikos and priests began possessing these jewels that would trap demons and keep them forever." He stepped towards her, his eyes flashing with anger and resentment. She threw up a barrier between herself and Hiromasa. He laughed. "I will not hurt you miko. I need you to return to the feudal era and save my kind. What use would you be to me dead?"

"The well won't let me through. It's closed." Her voice was flat and emotionless, almost as though she had dissociated from reality. She could not, and refused to, process the fact that every single demon, save the man glaring daggers at her, was gone.

He flung a string of beads at her and she lowered her barrier to catch them. At first she had not realized what they were, but when they glowed in response to her reiki she felt her heart stop. Inuyasha's subjugation beads. She clutched the beads to her chest. The names of all the demons she had met in the feudal era burned through her mind like fire. Shippo, Inuyasha, Kirara, Koga, Hakkaku, Ginta, Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru! He could not be gone; he was one of the strongest, most proud, and most resilient demons she had ever met. Furthermore, he more or less hated every human but Rin; there was no way he would be lured into a miko's trap.

"What of Sesshomaru? I know him; he would not be defeated so easily." Her words came out of a place of desperation. She needed some assurance, a life-line, anything to give her a spark of hope.

"You mean _Lord_ Sesshomaru? He was one of the first to go." Hiromasa laughed bitterly. Kagome felt her heart sink into her feet. She would have asked of Inuyasha, but the subjugation beads were enough of an answer for her. He placed a finger under her chin and jolted her head up, forcing her to look him in his spite-filled emerald eyes. "Don't waste your energy mourning, Miko; we have a well to open."

* * *

 **A/N:** **The second chapter will be up soon. This was just to set the stage for Kagome's return. Hope you liked it.**


	2. Will First, Way Later

**Will First, Way Later**

"I have tried several times to open the well. It won't budge." Kagome stood beside the daiyoukai and peered into the dark depths of the well.

"That is because you need youkai _and_ reiki to open it. Or so the theory goes."

"How do you know this?"

He looked at her with blatant disgust, "Do you think we just sat around for five hundred years and waited to be extinguished?"

That was it. She was beyond empathetic to his situation; she understood his hurt, his anger, his pain. But there was only so much hate she could absorb in the name of 'sympathy'. "I am helping you." Kagome snapped, "I will do anything to fix what happened. You are asking me to jump back into the feudal era and defeat an enemy I do not even know. Is a little civility too much to ask for?"

He had not always been this way; there was a time when one could have said Hiromasa actually liked humans. He found them amusing and some had surprisingly good hearts, even to the point of foolishness. Five hundred years ago he would have liked the miko. But her kind had made him this way. He turned and, for the first time that night, looked at her.

"You want an apology? Ask for it five hundred years ago." His words were cold and harsh. Where it not for the memory of her friends Kagome would have stormed away and left him to open the well on his own. "Stop wasting time and get in the well miko. It may open for only a short time."

Cursing him under her breath, Kagome climbed down into the well. "What now?" She called out.

He threw something down at her that almost hit her on the head. "That is my personal seal; when you go back to the feudal era use it to prove your story and gain my help. It should not be too hard; I was foolish and trusting then."

"Yes, of course I will definitely want to run into you again, because this experience has been so pleasant." Her words dripped with sarcasm.

He continued as though she had never spoken. Kagome, irritated, told herself that where she to run into him in the feudal era, should would purify him into dust.

"Did you hear me, miko?" At his words her eyes shoot up and searched for him in the dark. Two flaming emeralds looked over the lip of the well. "I am going to start. Do not ruin this."

Kagome pressed her hands against the well of the wall. All she had to do was send as much reiki as she could into the well whilst he sent his youkai through. The youkai and reiki in the shikon was what had helped the well work, and Hiromasa was hoping that their youkai and reiki could coax it to life once more. Of course this was only a theory, but if it went wrong he would blame her nonetheless.

Using her anger as motivation Kagome gathered all the reiki she could. Once she felt his youkai she let her reiki loose. All it took was a small spark. Just a fleeting touch between their two forces and the well opened up as though of it had wanted to all this time, but simply lacked the energy.

Almost instantly, Kagome found herself looking up at a clear, blue, afternoon sky. It had worked. She was back in the feudal era. Excited, she let out a triumphant "Yes!" that carried in the wind and into the nearby village that had so often served as her basecamp during her time in the feudal era.

Inuyasha sprang to his feet so quickly he fell out of his tree. The sound of Inuyasha hitting the ground caused Shippo to pause his game and when he saw the hanyou picking himself off the ground, he burst into laughter.

"Stop that because I will come over there and knock some sense into you." Inuyasha snarled. His features softened and he looked in the direction of the bone eater's well. "I heard Kagome. You heard her too right?"

"No, I didn't." Shippo replied, all traces of his laughter disappeared and the pained hopefulness in his voice caused Inuyasha to suppress his comment about Shippo being a useless demon. "But you hear much better than I do." Shippo added.

Inuyasha did not hear the latter part of the kitsune's statement because he was already bolting in the direction of the well. He had heard he voice, clear as the sky above him. He knew that this time he was not imagining things.

He arrived at the well just as Kagome pulled herself up over the lip of the well. He did not wait for her to fully pull herself out of the well; in one swift movement Inuyasha grabbed her hand, pulled her out, and drew her into him in a tight embrace. "Do you have any idea how much time I spent sitting by that damn well, waiting for you?" He buried his face in her hair and savoured the sweet, familiar vanilla scent that had been missing in his life since she left.

"I tried to come back, but the well would not let me." Kagome said, relishing the feel of her long-time friend. It was not until she saw him that she realized just how deeply the daiyoukai's words had affected her. The idea of Inuyasha's death was something she was just not prepared to deal with.

"Never do that to me again." He said, his words still partially muffled by her hair. Kagome tried to pull out of his embrace but he only held onto her tighter, "No, I am never letting you go again." Kagome closed her eyes and rested her head against his shoulder in an attempt to rekindle whatever passion she had for him when she was younger but, try as she might, there was no spark.

"Inuyasha, I am not going anywhere." At her words he reluctantly pulled away, but made sure to keep his arm around her waist so there could only be so much space between them. He had meant it when he said he was never letting her go.

"Would you be my mate? I can't stand to ever lose you again." He asked without fully thinking through the question. From the time he disappeared, he had told himself that should he ever meet her again, he would make her his without a second thought. Wasting time vacillating between her and Kikyo had cost him both his loves. He had resolved to not make that mistake again, and seeing Kagome again was all the motivation he needed.

Kagome had come to the feudal era prepared to face a lot of changes, but this was not one of them. From uncertainty about how he felt about her to him asking her to be his mate the moment he laid eyes on her again? The whole situation did not sit well with her in the least.

She stared blankly at her long-time friend and love interest, her mind scrambling to find the best way to turn him down without hurting him. She just was not ready to say yes. "Kagome?" His words pulled her out of her thoughts and she realized his was staring at her with hopeful, expectant eyes.

"I don't think this is the right time." She replied as diplomatically as possible. She was still trying to understand what had happened to her feelings for the hanyou, so a commitment of this magnitude was one she was unable to make right now.

She noted the hurt in his eyes, but there was nothing she could do.

"What do you mean? This is what we always wanted, and now we can have it. You and me, forever." The innocence and sincerity in his voice had always been so charming, and once again she felt herself slipping, falling, out of pity, for that boyish-hurt in his voice.

"We can't just bind ourselves to each other after three years of being apart. We need to get to know each other again before we decide."

She was beyond surprised when his spirits instantly lifted and he pulled her into yet another embrace. "As much time as you need Kagome." He said. His voice was light and happy. It was at this point she realized that he had chosen to selectively hear her; in his mind she had agreed to be his mate at some point in the future. She felt a flash of annoyance but quickly suppressed it. Inuyasha had not meant to ignore what she had actually said; he was just too immature to actually know how to listen.

Kagome sat in Kaede's hut, still trying to wrap her mind around the idea that one of her best friends, Sango, was already married with three children. She understood that the feudal era was different from her time, but to her, Sango was still too young to have three children.

"A lot of things changed while I was away." Kagome said as she stroked Shippo's hair. The moment he saw her, the fox kit had latched onto her and refused to let go. When they reached Kaede's hut Kagome had to displace Inuyasha in favour of Shippo so she could sit without being crowded by both of them.

Inuyasha growled at Shippo who was sitting in Kagome's lap, and she flashed the hanyou a look of annoyance. "Stop being a child Inuyasha; he missed me."

"Babying him will only make him weak." Inuyasha mumbled under his breath defensively.

She rolled her eyes. It had only been an hour since she returned to the feudal era, but she was already tempted to 'sit' Inuyasha.

The door slid open and she shifted her attention from the sulking hanyou as the old woman entered the room. Kagome could not help but noticed that Kaede had developed a slight limp and now walked slower than she remembered. She felt her chest tighten at the thought of just how much she had missed. "She finally stopped crying, but she won't talk to anyone." Kaede's tiredness showed in her voice.

"Whom?" Kagome asked. She felt like a stranger trying to catch up with an inside conversation.

"Rin. Sesshomaru hasn't come to see her in six weeks and she is crying about it like no one expected him to tire of her sooner or later." Inuyasha said in his characteristically callous manner.

Kagome froze. Hiromasa's words seemed to echo in her mind. Surely Sesshomaru could not already be gone. Had she come too late? "Kaede, have you heard anything about a jewel that traps demons?" The urgency in her voice caught all the occupants in the room off guard, "A youkai helped me reopen the well and he told me that there are these jewels that trap demons forever and that is why there are essentially no youkai in my time. He was the last youkai alive."

"There are no more youkai in your time?" Shippo's voice was soft and almost afraid. He had never thought to ask; he simply assumed that his kind would exist alongside humans forever. She rested her hand on his head and gave him a reassuring smile,

"I came back to fix that."

Kaede let out a heavy breath, "I have heard of no such thing. Perhaps Miroku, a younger priest, might have. But these jewels you speak of, what do they look like?"

Kagome looked down sharply. She had no idea. She had essentially jumped back in time to find 'something'. "I don't know."

"How are you going to stop something when you don't even know what it is? You just like to waste your time, don't you?" Inuyasha was not being helpful in the slightest and it irritated Kagome to high heavens.

"I have to try don't I?" Kagome snapped, "You don't exist either in my time. Shippo doesn't exist. Do you want me to just sit around and do nothing?" She rose to her feet, furious and stormed out of the room. The hanyou's ears twitched in annoyance,

"I was just saying." He mumbled.

Once out of the room Kagome's steps slowed down. Although happy to see Inuyasha again, his attitude was driving her crazy. She had told him what the daiyoukai had told her; about the fate of youkai, the jewel, and the need to destroy it as quickly as possible. Yet he kept acting as though it was not that important and deciding when their supposed 'mating' would happen was the most important thing in the world.

She walked to Rin's room where the little girl was curled up on the futon, facing away from her untouched lunch. "Rin." Kagome said softly as she entered the room.

Rin did not so much as budge.

Kagome knelt next to her and ran her hand gently through Rin's hair. "It's going to be ok. You know Sesshomaru would not have been gone so long unless it was absolutely necessary."

"Inuyasha said he was dead." Rin hiccupped. Kagome felt her anger flare red-hot.

'That stupid insensitive jerk!' she told herself that once she was done comforting Rin, she would sit Inuyasha so hard he will need to pull his ass out of his ribcage.

"We both know that's a lie." Kagome lied, praying for the Western Lord's safety.

"Rin," Kagome slipped her hand underneath the little girl and gently sat her up. "You need to eat, and go outside and be happy and healthy because I am going to find Sesshomaru and come back with him, and he is not going to want to see you like this."

RIn pouted and looked away. Kagome turned her head so she could see the little girl's face. She had dark circles under her tear-reddened eyes and could already see from her sallow cheeks that she was not eating well. "Sesshomaru would want you to be strong, and to have faith in him."

Rin reluctantly lifted her eyes to meet the miko and nodded. "Ok, now let's eat?" Kagome said with a forced smile. She hated seeing any child so broken. Although she could not understand how someone as sweet as Rin could become so attached to the unfeeling inuyoukai, she knew she had to do something. So, as usual, Kagome took on another task she had no idea how she would complete.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry guys, still no Sesshomaru. But he is coming, pinky promise!**


	3. A Detour

**A Detour**

They had been travelling for just two days and she was already prepared to kill Inuyasha. They had one more day of travel before they would reach Sango and Miroku's village, and already Kagome was having serious doubts about whether he would make it. She had probably 'sat' him more times in these short days than she had the entire time they were pursing the shikon jewel shards. He was verbally abusive, callous, and dense as they came.

"I'm just saying it's kind of weird that you won't even talk about our future."

Kagome felt her eye twitch in irritation. She was not sure if he was selectively deaf to every phrasing of 'I am not sure'. Whenever he brought up the subject of them being mated, Kagome would remind him that there was a more pressing issue at hand, he would go off to sulk, and then come back and act as though he did not understand the concept of her uncertainty. In his mind, once he had chosen Kagome they would magically get married. Her opinion in the matter never crossed his mind.

"You've always wanted this. Now that Kikyo is gone and we can be together."

"Sit!" Inuyasha hit the ground so hard the trees shook.

" 'Now that Kikyo is gone'? Really?" She was livid. Inuyasha stood up and flattened his ears against his head; even with his thick skull, he knew that this time he made a terrible mistake.

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Oh really?" Kagome crossed her arms, "So what did you mean? Because it sounded a lot like you want me to be your mate because your first choice is gone." She was surprised to find that she was more insulted than hurt. A few years ago his words might have driven her to tears, but now she could not even find a trace of sadness. All she had was her wounded pride.

"I just mean that…" His voice was faltering and Kagome was no in mood to wait for some half-hearted excuse as to why he had said those words.

"It doesn't matter Inuyasha. You are right, three years ago I might have wanted this, but I don't anymore."

Inuyasha took her hand, his eyes wide with fear and concern, "What do you mean?"

She knew her words were going to hurt him, so as much as she wanted to pull her hand out of his, she choose to squeeze if softly and reassuringly instead. "I care about you a lot, and I always will; you are my best friend. But I do not want to be your mate. Not now, not ever."

He could feel his strength faltering, but he would die before he shed a tear in front of her. If he stayed around her, she would see him weak.

"You are just saying that because you are angry." He made one last bid, hoping that her words stemmed solely from anger. Kagome shook her head slowly, her eyes pleading with him to forgive her. He knew she did not want to hurt him but that did not change the fact that he felt as though his heart was about to give out. Lost for words, Inuyasha dropped her hand and disappeared into the forest.

Kagome stared at the space between the trees through which her best friend had disappeared. _'It was the right thing to do'_ she told herself, as she tried to stop blaming herself for the forlorn look in his eyes, _'If anything, it was my fault for not doing that sooner'_ . She turned to look at Shippo who had distanced himself from the pair in order to give them some semblance of privacy.

"He'll come back." Shippo said.

"Of course he will. Till then, we can set up camp." Kagome dropped her backpack. She felt beyond awful, but there was nothing she could do; she had tried and tried to make herself feel what she had felt for him three years ago, but something were just meant to fade.

Kagome was having the most wonderful dream in which she was back at home with her family. In this dream her job was not as a P.E. teacher, but as full-time miko. She was giving advice to a young couple that looked suspiciously like Sango and Mirkou, when she felt a sharp pain in her arm. Her eyes flew open and she sat up with a start. She found herself surrounded by a thick, gray fog and could barely see two feet ahead. "I am sorry I bit you, but you were not waking up."

The fog was drawing her back to sleep, but the sound of Shippo's worried voice forced her to concentrate. She reached for her bow and arrows only to find that they were gone. Now she truly began to panic. Grabbing the kitsune, she started running in a direction. Praying that it was the right one. A large grey tendril shot towards her. She dodged it and ran in another direction. Shippo sent a blast of fox-fire towards the tendril but it simply pushed through the fire.

Kagome could feel herself shaking. Where was Inuyasha? 'This was the absolute perfect time for him to disappear. Good job Kagome.' She thought bitterly as she tried to outrun the tendril. She was running as fast as she could when she tripped over something. Her bow. Whatever was chasing her must have flung it away from the camp. She stopped and picked them up, and with speed and accuracy she did not know she possessed, she shot the arrow at the tendril. Upon contact the tendril withered in a flash of pink light the cleared a small section of the fog.

Just as one tendril withered another shot towards her. She nocked her arrow and let it fly. Soon she was doing this in continuous fashion, her mind constantly on her rapidly dwindling supply of arrows. Shippo was doing his best to help, but there was no way they could defeat the demon on their own. From the sheer force of its Youkai, she knew she had not chance to stop it on her own. She could not even see her main target!

She nocked her last arrow and let it fly towards a tendril, but slightly above, hoping it would collide with whatever was hiding in the fog. The tendril flew forwards and impaled her right in the middle of the chest. There was no blood, just the same calming aura lulling her to sleep.

"Kagome!" Shippo's cry helped her closing eyes snap open. She gathered all her strength and purified the tendril with all the power she could. Her reiki, bright and pink, burst forward and just like that the fog began to fade. She fell forward and had to support herself on her palms. She was breathing heavily, tired and drained from a battle she should never have had to fight with so little support.

She heard the shuffling of feet and looked up slowly. A tall, blue haired man was stumbling towards her. His skin was burning right off. Bright grey eyes stared at her with more hate that she ever thought a person capable. "You will not be the one to defeat me." He hissed, his voice weak from pain. He reached down towards her, with every intention of ending her life. Shippo leapt at the hand and bit as hard as he cold, the demon flung him off and he careened through the air and hit a tree trunk. In the moment the demon was distracted, Kagome's hand shot up, grabbed its wrist and, scraping the bottom of her spirit for reiki, purified the demon till he was nothing but ashes floating away in the wind.

She felt something hard in the palm of the hand with which she had purified the demon. She had barely opened her hand to look at the bright red stone when everything went dark.

Sesshomaru was painfully bored. He enjoyed having time to himself to think, but over a year of nothing but trees and absolute solitude was more than even he could handle. He read over what had to be the eightieth poem he had, for lack of writing materials, etched into a tree. The last line did not fit and it bothered him deeply; he could not start a new one unless this one was absolutely perfect. He was about to alter a word when he felt a pulse of reiki. It was as though this place was taunting him; ever few days he would feel a pulse of reiki, followed by a flash of youkai which meant there was another demon present. But he had never encountered a single soul.

He was about to change the word when he felt a second pulse of reiki. But not of the same one that pulsed every time, the one he had been engulfed by right before he was dragged into this endless, empty forest. This new reiki was all too familiar and it was grasping for him. Desperate for company, he sent out his youkai, hoping that this would guide the reiki towards him. It was probably a bad idea, but being alone was even worse. If he had something to kill or hunt it would have been fine, but as there was not so much as an insect in this world, he would have to settle for the company of Inuyasha's miko. He really had hit rock-bottom.

The moment she felt solid ground beneath her, Kagome scrambled to her feet. She had felt Sesshomaru. She was absolutely certain of it. Somehow she had gone from being in a forest with Shippo, to falling through nothingness. She could feel the reiki that was transporting her, but she could also feel different youkai passing by her. At one point, she had felt Sesshomaru. She had instinctively reached for him, and held on to his youkai until she felt the ground beneath her.

"Sesshomaru?" She called out. The forest was conspicuously silent. Although the sun was high in the sky and there was not a single cloud, the uncomfortable lack of sound made the forest feel dead.

Sesshomaru emerged from between the trees, his face cold and hard as ever. "What are you doing here, miko? And you will address me _Lord_ Sesshomaru."

She ran towards him, stopping barely a foot away from him. "I don't know how I got here and I can't find anyone. I was with Shippo, and then it went black and I woke up here. Have you see Shippo, the little kitsune I travel with?" her panicked words ran together and for a brief moment Sesshomaru actually felt something like pity for her.

"There is no one here; until you arrived I was the only person here."

Kagome buried her face in her hands and took deep, calming breaths. She had to maintain her composure; there was in use in falling apart. It was not fair. She had waited three years to come back, only for her to break her best friend's hurt, lose Shippo, and get trapped in some strange forest even before she could see Sango and Miroku again. But, she had to find a way out and breaking down would only waste time.

"Are you alright?" His icy tone and the concerned question did not go well together, and the contrast almost amused Kagome.

Squaring her shoulders, she lifted her face from her hands, "I am fine. I just needed to gather myself."

He could sense her fear and frustration, but she was doing her best to hide it and were it not for her scent and tense reiki, he might have not been able to tell. Not many humans had that much self-control.

"Where are we?" She asked, she was staring at him with hope in her eyes and it made him deeply uncomfortable not only because he did not know the answer to her question, but also because she was looking him straight in the eyes so she seemed to be challenging him, but her body language and features spoke nothing of defiance or aggression.

His silence was enough of a response for her. "And I take it there is no way out." She added.

"No matter which direction you walk in, you end up where you began. If you fly up high enough, you begin to approach the ground again. So no, miko, there appears to be no means of escape."

"If there is a way in, there is a way out. Perhaps you overlooked something." Her words were innocent enough, but they struck a nerve.

"I have been here for a year. Do you suppose I sat around twiddling my thumbs?" There was a harshness creeping into his voice that Kagome did not like at all. If they were going to survive and not drive each other to murder, they needed to remain on as good terms as possible.

"No, I'm sorry it's just-" She began to speak, but suddenly caught on one of his words, "Wait, you have not been here a year. Inuyasha told me you had not seen Rin in six weeks."

Sesshomaru searched her features for any tell-tales signs of lying, knowing full well she had absolutely no reason to lie about what she had just said. There was only one explanation and it made his blood boil. Someone was toying with him by altering his perception of time and making his imprisonment seem longer. He resolved to find whoever was responsible for his entrapment, and demonstrate why it was unwise to anger the lord of the west. "It appears time moves faster here." His words were cool and even; they did not betray even a hint of his anger.

"Well that gives us more time to find our way out of here. I need to get back; I have things to do."

Sesshomaru looked her up and down, his lips curled in irritation, "And I have no duties of my own." He turned his back towards her and began to walk away. Kagome glared at his retreating figure, the insult of his dismissal burned.

"Well sorry my trying to save your kind from extinction does not measure against running the Western Lands." The words flew out before she could process what she had said.

At her words, Sesshomaru stopped. He turned around slowly, "Save my kind from extinction?" He asked as he stalked towards her. Kagome cursed her big mouth. Why did she always have to rise to bait? What was it that made her so stubborn and impulsive? "Miko, explain your words."

She was torn. On one hand he might be know something about the jewels used against demons, but on the other hand he would most certainly demand to know the source of her information and she could not simply tell him she was from the future. She did not trust him enough to tell him that much about herself. Kagome took a leap of faith. "I was told of these jewels used by mikos and priests to trap demons. Apparently it was used to destroy every demon."

"Like this one?" Sesshomaru could not believe her stupidity. How had she gotten her if not by that cursed jewel? All he did was touch it and it brought him to this miserably empty place.

Kagome did remember the red jewel in her hand, but it still seemed unlikely that it was what had wiped out the demons "But I am not a demon, why would it trap me here?"

"Perhaps," Sesshomaru rubbed the bridge of his nose, wondering just how far one person could get under his skin, "It traps any being with any power at all, be it reiki or youkai."

"No, Miko's and priests used them. If it trapped people with reiki it would have affected them as well. Morever, I got it after purifying a demon; were it the right one, it would have trapped him and not me."

She felt tiny under his scrutinizing gaze, and she prayed he would accept her words and leave it at that. But Sesshomaru was the last person on earth who would accept a half-answer. "And what is this jewel supposed to look like?"

"I don't know." Kagome mentally cursed Hiromasa for giving her next to no information about the jewel. In all fairness, he had never seen it himself and had told her all he knew about it, but that was not enough. She was a miko not a magician.

"And where did you heard about such a thing? I have never heard anyone speak about danger to all the demons." Sesshomaru kept prying. He was curious by nature and did not like that Kagome was purposely hiding information from him.

"A priest told me." Kagome knew he could see that she was lying, but she continued anyway, "He had a dream of a future in which there were no more demons, because of these jewels. I promised I would destroy them."

He did not believe a word she aside. Aside being able to read the deceit on her face, she had spoken in past tense about an event she claimed was yet to happen. "It is not wise to lie to me." It was more likely that a priest who had a dream about a demon-less world would do all in his power to ensure such a world, instead of enlisting help to prevent it.

"It's not a lie." She said firmly, still knowing very well that he could see right through her. He just kept staring at here with those unflinching amber eyes. She managed to hold his gaze for a while, but eventually the guilt of holding up such an obvious lie got to her and she looked away. She adjusted her bow and quiver nervously, "I can't tell you how I know. You just have to believe that I am telling the truth."

"Hn." That was all she got for her confession. Kagome lifted her eyes from the ground sharply, but Sesshomaru was already walking away.

"Are you kidding me?" She said as she grabbed his sleeve, stopping him in his tracks. "We have to keep trying to find a way out."

When he turned, the ice in his gaze was enough to make her uncurl her fingers and release him. "I am not stopping you from trying to find a way out. I do suggest you refrain from touching my person." He said in a tone that made it clear that the latter part of his sentence was more of a warning than suggestion.


	4. Vying For Dominance

**Vying For Dominance**

"Are you aware of whom you speak to?" Sesshomaru was standing mere inches away from her, his claws itching for her neck. "I could kill you where you stand."

Kagome rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration, "This threat again?"

That was the last straw. He wrapped her hand around her neck, his claws aligned perfectly with the pink marks on her neck that had just began to fade, and slammed her against a tree. "You will learn respect, woman, or I will make you learn." He snarled, flashing his elongated fangs.

She did not flinch even as he broke skin. "I am not afraid of you Sesshomaru." She emphasized her defiance by maintaining eye contact even as they went from anger to rage, and began to tinge red. He let go of her sharply and shut his eyes as he fought to regain control. One day he was going to kill her; there was not a day when her insolence did not drive him to lose control and it was getting harder and harder to justify her continued existence.

" _Lord_ Sesshomaru. You will address me in the correct manner."

"Right, even though you call me 'woman' instead of my name which I have told you a thousand times, is Kagome." She snapped.

"Woman, you are testing my patience. You will behave. You will submit." He snarled. Any being with half a survival instinct would have scurried away, but Kagome was intent on standing her ground.

"You can't make me do anything. In all the five hundred years you have been alive someone must have mentioned to you that you are not a god, right?" She looked at his claws balled into a fist at his side, then touched the slow trail of blood on her neck, her resentment growing. "No? Well, let me be the first on record to say that you, _Lord_ Sesshomaru of the Western Lands, are not a god. Live with it." With those words she turned her back to him and walked away.

What had just happened? He stood rooted to the spot and watched her dark hair sway with every step as she stormed away from him, back turned as though he could not kill her where she stood.

Sesshomaru sat on the ground and shut his eyes in meditation. Since she arrived Sesshomaru found himself forced to meditate with increasing frequency just to reign in his anger. No other being, human or demon – not even his worthless half-brother – had so consistently tested his self-control. He tried to block out the incessant pulsing of her reiki, but it kept flaring at the edge of his senses, goading his youkai to react. "Stupid, arrogant, useless dogs. One day I will just purify him." He could hear her seething in the distance, calling him names that would get anyone else killed without so much as a second thought. He took another deep breath and tried to mentally distance himself from the miko and her hate-filled words. He could not break out of this prison he had found himself in, but perhaps a priestess could. As he did not have his choice of holy humans, he simply had no choice but to try to put off her inevitable death.

"If he thinks that a few threats are going to make me cower, then that idiot has a few lessons to learn." She seethed as she wiped the blood off her neck. It was almost a ritual at this point; he would say something, she would question him, and he would fly off the handle and threaten to kill her. As perfect as the inuyoukai seem, he had a crippling inability to answer the simply questions 'why' or 'are you sure'.

"Woman, control yourself." The daiyoukai came stalking through the trees and towards her, his amber eyes flaring with irritation.

"What?" Kagome threw up her hands in frustration, "What did I do this time? I was just standing here. Are you going to tell me that my standing offends you now?"

"Woman," His words were slow and controlled, it was taking all his self-control not to lunge at her. If he touched her right now, he would kill her. "Your reiki is grating on my senses. Control yourself."

"My reiki?" Kagome asked, pointing at herself.

"No. Mine." The daiyoukai said dryly, "of course yours." He flared. Kagome narrowed her eyes at him, and never in his entire life had he wanted to rip someone apart so badly. The more insolent she acted, the harder it was for him to control his murderous urges.

"I don't know how to control my reiki, I did not even know it was bothering you." She shrugged, and made no attempt to pull in her holy aura.

"I said," He was walking towards her again. Perhaps this would be her last day alive after all. "control yourself." His claws were itching for her neck again, his inner beast was howling for her blood, and this time he was not sure whether he would be able to stop himself.

" _I_ said don't know how to. I am sorry it bothers you, but there is nothing I can do."

He looked at her, "You call yourself a miko, yet can't do something as simple as rein in your power? Were you trained by a child?"

"I wasn't trained." Now she was the one closing the gap, unknowingly walking to her death, "I showed up one day, they told me I was the shikon miko, and sent me off to defeat Naraku. I am sorry we can't all – "

A piercing scream cut Kagome off mid-sentence. They both looked towards the forest, where the sound had come from. A little boy, no older than seven, came running out of the trees. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes in suspicion; he had just been in that part of the forest and had not so much as caught a hint of another occupant.

Kagome ran towards the child without as much as a second thought, and Sesshomaru found himself wondering just how deep her stupidity ran. She did not take moment to reflect, or assess the situation. No, like someone who was begging to be killed, she just ran straight towards the child.

Kagome had barely reached the boy when a large bear demon burst through the trees. She did not have enough time to get to safety, so she did the only thing she could; she pushed the boy behind her and put up a shield. The bear claws fell heavily against the shield, but failed to break it. Although its arms burned from the purifying power of Kagome's reiki, it lifted them to attack her again. "Run." Kagome said to the boy. She desperately needed to find a way out of this. She had a bow, but no arrows. The bear clawed at the shield again, ignoring its burning flesh.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes in suspicion; there was too much about the situation that made no sense. He pushed the thoughts aside and placed his hand on Bakusaiga's hilt; if he waited too long the demon would kill itself against Kagome's shield, and then where would Sesshomaru find his entertainment? As he neared Kagome and the bear he took his hand off the sword's hilt, deciding that using his whip would better help him vent his frustrations. He could not kill the miko, but he could certainly kill take his frustrations out of the youkai that had so kindly offered itself.

Through her shield Kagome saw a bright yellow flash. The bear howled in pain but did not turn its attention away from Kagome. Two more flashes of light and the bear finally fell to the ground, dead. Sesshomaru examined his claws with the same intensity and curiosity one would examine a new appendage. Killing the bear was harder than it should have been; one strike should have been more than enough to subdue the beast.

"Thank you. I just realized I have no arrows left."

"Tell me woman, do you seek to die? A being with half sense at least knows that you need weapons to fight." He said coolly, his eyes still fixed on his claws as he tried to determine just what was wrong with him.

"The boy was in danger. I acted on instinct." Kagome said defensively. She looked the daiyoukai up and down. "And that habit of talking to me without even looking at me is rude, so stop it."

He lifted his eyes to her face. Had he just commanded _him_? " _I_ am a being of instinct, _you_ are a being of foolishness. Did you possess an inkling of sense you would show me more respect. If you do not learn soon, I will have to teach you respect."

Stubborn as ever, she refused to flinch. She kept staring him straight in the eyes, challenging his very authority. "You don't instill respect, Sesshomaru, you earn it." She made sure to stress his name and emphasise the lack of formal address. Before he could respond to her challenge, she added in a much less hostile tone, "This is not the time for us to argue. After we find out more about the boy, you can try to lord it over me all you want. Although I will tell you right now, that you will be wasting your time."

A low growl rumbled in his chest as he watched her walk away from him. He had protected her, and instead of showing gratitude she had challenged him. He needed to establish that she was his charge and he was the leader. But the miko was simply too stubborn to let him. Things would have been much easier if she had the common sense to fear him.

"Aren't you coming? We need to talk to the boy." Kagome said to him over her shoulder.

Reluctantly, almost painfully, Sesshomaru followed her. At that point, he vowed to make her submit, even if it killed him. Over his dead body would a human stand equal to him.

He stood over her as she knelt beside the boy who was trying his best to thank her as he wiped his eyes. "I wandered too far from my village. My mum always told me not to walk off, but I did. And I saw the bear so I ran." The child hiccupped, his voice still shaky from his crying.

"Hey, it's ok. We will find a way to get you home." She spoke so softly and gently that it surprised Sesshomaru; the Kagome he knew was defiant and sharp. Who was this woman gently comforting the crying child?

"Woman, Come with me."

Her eyes snapped up to meet Sesshomaru's. "I can't just leave him while he is crying." As though by magic, the old, stubborn Kagome returned.

"Woman," He sounded serious. Not belittling, not condescending, but genuinely serious. Kagome sighed and stood up.

This time Sesshomaru led the way but he was still not satisfied with how they interacted; she was lagging behind not because it was her place, but as a display of yet more defiance. "That boy did not come here the way we did. You can feel when others are drawn into this place. I could not tell when the boy arrived."

Kagome looked at the boy, who was sitting at the other side of the clearance, and then back at Sesshomaru. "Where do you think he is from?"

"I do not know, but I suggest we attempt to find his village. It's unlikely that it exists as we have both walked this whole area, but that boy is strange." It pained him to ask her consent on a decision, but if he did not, she would dig her heels in and refuse to move until they reached a compromise.

"Ok, I trust your judgement. What do we have to lose?"

Her words caught the daiyoukai off guard. The easy concession to his leadership was so uncharacteristic that for a moment Sesshomaru was actually lost for words.

Kagome looked at the boy once more. He was quiet now and staring blankly into the distance. The distant, hazy look in his eyes made Sesshomaru's estimation that something was not right with the child all the more plausible.

"I would warn you to be careful. That bear demon was possessed." His words caught her attention again. Sesshomaru read the confusion on her face and replied before she could ask, "It was charging directly for you. When the boy ran, it did not pursue him but remained focused on you, and even when I struck it, it never diverted its attention from you."

Kagome's eyes widened and for a brief second he saw fear flash in her eyes. So she was capable of fear. It seemed he would just have to try harder. "Me? Why me?"

Sesshomaru stared at the woman who had made him consult her on a decision for their group. The woman whom he was fighting himself not to kill. "Because you cause trouble."


	5. Pride

**Pride**

Kagome knelt by the little boy and forced herself to smile, "Hey, what is your name?"

He turned to look at her, his eyes still frightfully blank. "Seinosuke. I wondered from the village and the bear attacked me. Can you take me back; my mother will be worried." His monotone sent shivers down her spine. She looked up from the boy at Sesshomaru and lifted her eyebrows. It was almost as though she were talking to a shell of the boy she had rescued.

"Do you remember the way to your village?" Sesshomaru asked. The boy did not so much as look at the daiyoukai; he kept his blank stared fixed on Kagome who was growing increasingly uncomfortable.

"Your village, do you know where it is?" Kagome repeated the question. The boy finally spoke, but still in that same unsettling monotone,

"Yes, that way." He pointed behind Kagome, "Let's go now. My mother will be worried." The boy stood up and began to walk towards the trees, "Please let's go; I am scared."

Kagome looked at Sesshomaru one last time before following the child, making sure to remain as close to the demon lord as possible. "I don't like this, Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru was not sure how to react. Less than an hour ago he had threatened to kill her, yet she was still trying to remain close to him for protection. It was amusing to see the defiant Kagome finally beaten, and by a little boy with a blank-stare no less, but Sesshomaru was still fixated on why she would turn to him for a sense of safety. Did she really not fear him at all? What would possess her to believe that walking next to him was her safest option?

Kagome grabbed the fabric of Sesshomaru's hakama and walked even closer to him, "This part of the forest was not here before. Or am I crazy?" Even though she kept her voice barely above a whisper, he could still hear her anxiety in her words.

"Let go of my person." He said almost absently. He was more focused on the boy; he watched, intrigued, as the boy marched through the forest with purpose, walking straight ahead never stopping to think or verify the direction in which he was headed. Surely a child who had been chased through the forest would not remember the way back so perfectly. Whoever was trying to deceive them was not doing a very good job of it.

They had barely walked ten minutes when they came across an entire village. Kagome tightened her grip on Sesshomaru's sleeve and said, still keeping her voice barely above a whisper, "I do not like this at all."

Sesshomaru grudgingly had to admit that he was impressed by her. Her sudden change in her demeanor was nothing short of magic. Gone was the girl who had walked through the forest holding onto him for support, in her place was this strange creature who was masking her fear so well that were it not for her scent and tense reiki, he would have been none the wiser.

"Ah, no need to thank me. Anyone would have done the same." Kagome said politely to the blank-eyed mother of the boy she had saved. Nothing about the village was right; it had appeared out of nowhere, everyone had the same unsettling blank stares, and no one seemed to notice Sesshomaru's presence.

"It is getting dark. You should spend the night here, I insist." The woman said, her word as even and monotonous as her son's.

"Oh no, I could not-"

"Miko," Sesshomaru interrupted, "Accept the offer."

Kagome looked at him as though he were crazy. For some strange reason, no one could hear or see Sesshomaru, so he was at liberty to say whatever he wanted to. Kagome, on the other hand, tried to carefully measure her words; she did not know what was going on and preferred to err on the side of caution, in case the villagers were dangerous. Sesshomaru refused to explain his decision; Kagome was in a position where she literally could not question him right now, and he intended to use it to his advantage and set the order of things – he made the decisions, and she followed. Simple.

"Thank you very much for the offer," Kagome smiled as though nothing was wrong, "I have been travelling for a while and I appreciate having a place to rest." She was great at feigning politeness.

"I will set a room for you." The blank-eyed woman said. She rose to her feet and left the room.

Kagome turned to Sesshomaru sharply, "Are you crazy? These people are creepy and they are going to try to kill me. I don't have any arrows Sesshomaru."

His temper flared at her disrespect but he quickly regained control of himself. "And did you realise your lack of arrows right now or before you charged towards an angry bear demon?"

Kagome rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration, an action that was becoming almost second nature due to the daiyoukai's incessant condescension. "Let it go. I did one stupid thing, but anyone with half a heart would have done the same; I could not just leave the kid to his fate."

"Yes you could have, it is called fate for a reason."

She was touching him again. Sesshomaru looked down at the offending finger pressed against the center of his breastplate, and then looked up at Kagome whose brows were knit together in such furious determination that the situation began to seem more amusing than annoying. "I have a heart, my mistake. But the fact remains, Sesshomaru, these people are probably all murderers and you just asked me to stay with them. The least you can give me is a 'why'."

A perfectly reasonable request, but Sesshomaru was intent on making it clear that he was still in charge, even when he answered her questions. He picked her up with one hand, as though she were a doll, and put her down to the side so she was no longer standing in his way, "I have a theory."

Offended was putting it mildly. Kagome stood frozen, her finger still in the air. "Are you serious? You can't just do that to people, it's rude and insulting and-"

"Woman." He did not want to hear any more of what she was saying, "Be quiet.I do not care about your feelings or what you believe I can and cannot do to people. All I require is that you work with me so we can find our way out. Now will you follow me so I can show you?"

He had never been so disgusted with himself. He, Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Lands, had just extended an offer of cooperation to a human, a fragile, fleeting human. He had tried to couch it in the most distancing and indifferent way possible, but it still hurt his pride to accept that they stood on equal ground. He was doing so only to avoid her insolence and defiance slowing them down, but it still stung like a battle wound. _'I have been trapped in this foul place for far too long'_ He thought bitterly as he waited for her answer. He was one wrong word away from throwing her off a cliff.

"I don't like you." She said through gritted teeth as she grudgingly walked behind him.

"I don't care."

Once outside Sesshomaru stopped, "We will have to fly."

Stubborn as ever, Kagome choose to fold her arms across her chest and look up at the sky instead of responding. She was still upset with him, but not enough to volunteer for him to leave her alone in the strange village.

"Unless you can somehow grow wings you will have to hold on to me." Sesshomaru looked at her squared shoulders and upturned chin. She was still upset with him, even after he had swallowed his pride and accepted her co-leadership. Why were humans so difficult?

It never struck him that he had done too good a job of couching his offer of cooperation in derision, and she had not realized the gravity of what had transpired.

"Oh, so a lowly human can now touch the almighty Sesshomaru." Kagome said derisively. She still refused to look at him and that bothered the daiyoukai more than he would admit to himself.

He flew off. Kagome's eyes shot in his direction and watched as he sailed skyward. She closed her eyes and took a few deep, calming breathes. _'Everything will be fine'_ she told herself, trying to ward off mental images of the blank-eyes villagers shuffling towards her and refused to let her escape, _'You are not going to get separated, and you will get out of here'_. She took one last breath and opened her eyes. Sesshomaru was standing in front of her as though he had never left; he had simply circled overhead and come right back to her. It had been seconds and he did not, for a single one of those seconds, take his eyes off her. Stubborn or not, was still his charge.

"Do not waste my time miko." He held out his hand. Kagome had never wanted anything as badly as she wanted Sesshomaru to have Inuyasha's subjugation beads so she could sit him till he was seeing double.

"Then apologise." Kagome said firmly. She had had it; the more she put up with his rude and dismissive behaviour, the worse he would get and she absolutely refused to encourage his bad behaviour. Of course she did not expect him to actually apologise; he was the great Lord Sesshomaru after all, but he would know that she took a stand and refused to be subdued like all the others who cowered at his every word. She was Kagome Higurashi and she bowed to no one.

"Don't be silly Woman, you are wasting time." He replied with equal conviction. Not content with being his equal, she was coming after his pride with a hatchet even though he could melt her where she stood. _'Try to melt her_ ´he reminded himself with a mix and irritation of admiration; she had survived his first attempt to kill her, and was defiant enough to probably survive a second.

She shook her head defiantly, "I am not going anywhere with you until you apologise. You are constantly either insulting me or threatening to harm me. I know you don't like having to be in the presence of a 'lowly human' but the least you could do is be civil."

Then he caught a trace of sadness in her; she was so good at hiding her hurt that he had almost missed it. The weight of their entrapment was slowly getting to her and although she was great at squaring her shoulders and facing things head on, she needed supportive companions. She thrived off the support of her 'group' and their toxic relationship was only hurting her.

"I do not have the patience for this." He grabbed her arm, pulled her towards him, and took off into the air, ignoring her complaints and insults. A part of him undoubtedly felt something akin to remorse, but he had neither the time nor capacity to coddle her.

Kagome was furious. No, she was livid. "You know, I think there is some deep seated issue that you are taking out on me."

"I will drop you." The inuyoukai warned.

"Oh you will?" Kagome asked sarcastically as she snapped her eyes in his direction. She hated Sesshomaru, but her mind seemed to hate her more because instead of another insult, all it could come up with was just how statuesque he looked against the dying sunlight. The red-gold light lent the edges of his hair the same amber tint as his eyes and the rays of light danced on the strong angles of his face, highlighting his damn near perfect profile. The man was as mesmerising to look at as he was infuriating.

Kagome forcibly pushed the thoughts of admiration out of her head and made herself focus on the landscape instead. It was just as beautiful as the daiyoukai and much better for her temper and wellbeing. But her relief was short-lived. The beauty of the landscape gave way to a horror as the village came back into view. They had flow straight for almost an hour, only to come back upon the very village they had left behind. But more suspiciously, they had never passed over the clearing that she had spent her few weeks trapped in. It was all forest, and then suddenly a village. "It's another circular world." For a brief moment she sounded distraught, but that soon gave way to a determined optimist that simultaneously annoyed Sesshomaru, and impressed him with her resilience, "If we could get out of the last one, we can get out of this one. Then we can get out of this place all together."

"It is not up to us," Sesshomaru said as he landed on the ground, making sure to remain a slight distance away from the village. He did not fear the villagers, but he found them just as unsettling as Kagome did. "I noticed that as the boy led us through the forest the scent of the air changed. Whoever is controlling this world wanted us to move, and until they want us to move again we are trapped here."

"Well, let's go speed things up." Kagome said, her shoulders firm with renewed resolve, "If we got the leave the other place because I helped the boy, perhaps they want me to do something in the village. The sooner I find out what my next task is, the sooner we can leave."

"Very well." He nodded, not realising the ease with which he gave in to her command. He had arrived at the same conclusion that the person controlling the world wanted Kagome to finish specific tasks. A conclusion that annoyed him because he was relegated to being nothing but a helper, and Sesshomaru was not used to playing second fiddle in someone else's story.


	6. Fight!

**Fight!**

Kagome pulled out another handful of weeds and dumped them in the basket. She had taken to helping around the village in hopes of stumbling across what she was expected to do before she and Sesshomaru could leave this part of the world. But so far all the villagers had had her do was pull weeds over and over and over again. She looked at Sesshomaru who standing idly a few feet away from her. "And he won't even help me." Kagome muttered under her breath as she continued to pull weeds, her frustration growing at the apparent endless stream of weeds that just magically found themselves in the garden

"If you master your mind, tasks like this can become almost meditative." Sesshomaru said. If she did not know the daiyoukai better she would have thought he was mocking her.

"Aren't you too uptight to make jokes?" Kagome asked, her eyes never leaving the garden soil.

"Seeing you so subdued does wonders for my mood." He was leaning against a nearby wall, his golden eyes turned up to the sky. She refused to look up from the soil because every time her eyes passed over him, her mind and body betrayed her.

"More like seeing me enslaved." She huffed.

Sesshomaru looked at her violently jerking the weeds out of the soil and knew that she was imagining them to be him. "Work is good for you; it builds character. Given how little control you have over your reiki, you need all the self-discipline you can get."

Perhaps she could not rein in her reiki, but she could extend it. And that was exactly what she did. She extended her aura in his direction so forcefully that Sesshomaru's youkai retreated under the unexpected pressure. "Woman, what are you doing?" He asked darkly, he was already heading in her direction and Kagome knew if he reached her, what would follow would be deeply unpleasant so she pushed her reiki even more forcefully, hoping that would keep him at bay.

His youkai surged in response, struggling under the weight of spiritual power he had not expected from someone so seemingly weak. It was then he remembered that she had defeated Naraku. He was so absorbed in just how infuriating her presence was that he had quite forgotten that she was a formidable miko.

They reached an impasse. His youkai and her reiki clashed violently midway between them, the sheer force of their opposing powers whipped the grass and uprooted the weaker plants, yet they still stood locked. Both refusing to budge even an inch. Gold and pink sparks flew between them. Shocked, they both withdrew their auras.

Kagome looked up sharply. Sesshomaru was glaring at her. He was not happy at all. She put up a barrier around her just before the daiyoukai reached her. "Don't be ridiculous; I simply mean to ask you a question, not harm you."

"Well, you can ask me from that side of the barrier." Kagome said. Her hand automatically reached for the slowly healing claw marks on her neck. Sesshomaru noted his claw marks on her and felt the briefest tinge of regret, but he pushed it aside; it was her fault for being so insolent. He pressed his hand against the barrier. Her holy powers tingled, and then began to sting slightly. He pulled away his hand but kept his eyes fixed on the miko hiding defiantly behind her reiki. He was invulnerable to human attacks so her reiki would not harm him significantly. However, she was strong enough to keep that barrier standing no matter what he did.

"You should get some training," He said flatly, "You have too much reiki to be walking around like some pathetic, helpless child."

Kagome rolled her eyes, "You know a question is usually a phrase that requires a response, not just another pointless insult."

Sesshomaru felt his chest burning with what could only be rage. "Woman, watch yourself."

Kagome was about to respond when she heard footsteps on the wooden porch. She turned to find the blank-eyed woman, whose son she had saved, walking towards her with a quiver full of arrows. "Miko," she said as she held out the quiver along with Kagome's bow, "this is to thank you for all your help."

Kagome looked at the quiver suspiciously. She was glad to have arrows; this meant she had something she could threaten Sesshomaru with. But at the same time, she did not trust anything present to her in this world. She turned to look at Sesshomaru who, sensing nothing wrong with the arrows, he nodded for Kagome to take them.

He felt a sense of pride as she reached for the arrows. She had trusted him to protect her, despite her obstinacy she allowed him to guide her. Perhaps she was learning after all, now if only he could do something about her insolence. The sudden presence of numerous demons cut short his train of thought. They had not approached the village; they just appeared like the sudden illumination of a hundred lights. "Kagome, stand up." He said, placing his hand on bakusaiga. "There are several demons nearby. They are almost at the village."

"Giving me my bow and new arrows right before the village is attacked? Whoever is orchestrating this is not very subtle." Kagome sounded almost irritated. A sentiment Sesshomaru shared completely. He hated being toyed with, especially in such an obvious and unimaginative manner; it was insulting.

Sesshomaru held out his hand for Kagome and said, "You'd be more useful on higher ground." Whatever prior disagreement they had been having faded into the background and defeating the attacking youkai became the only thing of importance.

Without so much as a second thought she took his hand and let him carry her to the highest rooftop. There had to be at least two hundred wolf youkai racing through the village. Every single one had blood red eyes. "Are they also possessed?" She asked, "Isn't there something we can do besides kill them? It's not their fault." All she could think about the wolf youkai she knew and how, despite their brashness, most were good hearted.

"This is not the time for pity, Miko." Sesshomaru said sternly, "If you don't kill them, they will kill you. Remember, it is likely that, as with before, you are the target." With that he leapt off the roof, leaving her with a quiver full of arrows and an elevated view of her surroundings.

She nocked an arrow and trained it on the one who seemed to be the leader of the pack. She mouthed a short apology before letting her arrow fly. It struck him in the chest and purified him on contact. Immediately they lost all sense of organisation. She nocked another arrow and continued to fire as Sesshomaru culled their ranks with Bakusaiga. It hurt her to fire arrow after arrow, and even when she felt tears stinging her eyes she continued to fire. She was so focused on the wolves that she did not notice that the number of arrows in her quiver never declined.

No matter how many they took down, the wolves just kept pouring out of the forest. Her arm was getting tired from shooting so many arrows but she gritted her teeth and continued. There was no way she was going to give up; this was her way out and she had no intention of letting it go. She was reaching for another arrow when she felt a strong arm around her waist. "Miko, I believe instead of waiting for the wolves to come to the village, we should go to them." Sesshomaru said as he lifted her off the roof and placed her on the ground. "We are going to push them back. I assume you can handle that?"

"Of course." She sounded almost offended that he would ask. He should have known better than to ask; even at their first meeting when he had tried to kill her, she had proven herself to be brave almost to the point of stupidity. But it had worked for her then, and he chose to believe that her bravery would work for her again.

Using arrow after arrow, she cleared a path forward as he watched her flank and back. Just as he had suspected, the wolves did not bother a single villager; they were all focused on her and her alone. He was not even certain that they were aware of his presence. Somehow, one wolf almost blind-sided him and, leaping from behind a wolf he had just taken down, aimed straight for Kagome, its claws stretched towards her.

An unexplainably intense rage burned through Sesshomaru and nearly clouded his senses. There was a perimeter around Kagome that no threat was allowed to breach, and that one lowly wolf demon had the gall to attempt to breach said perimeter, under his watch, was more than the daiyoukai could tolerate. In one swift movement he materialised his whip and slashed through the wolf, enjoying the feeling of the wolf succumbing to the power of his raw, condensed youkai.

Kagome was so focused and meticulous that he did not need to watch her front as well, although he did anyway. It took a while, but they finally reached the last wolf youkai. In its wolf form it towered at least a foot over Kagome. She aimed reached for another arrow; her hands impressively steady given the overwhelming smell of fear emanating from her. It snarled at her and clacked its teeth in her direction. It lunged towards her and she let the arrow fly, leaving a trail of pink as it cut through the air. It struck the demon in the neck, purifying it on contact. Sesshomaru watched, impressed by the ease and composure with which she dispatched of the last wolf. It was a decent mid-level demon, and she had brushed past it as easily as she had brushed past the other lower wolves.

They took a few cautious steps forward as they looked around for more demons. About ten feet from where the last wolf fell, the air suddenly changed and Sesshomaru knew they were once again in another part of the world. "I believe we are done."

Relief washed like cool water on a hot afternoon. She sank to the ground, rested her hands on her knees, and enjoyed the moment of peace.

"Are you tired?" He looked at the weak lines of her shoulder and her hunched posture. He thought she would lie and say she was not, but Kagome had no need for façades of strength.

"Mentally, emotionally. This is all really taking its toll on me." Her words caught him off guard. He had never heard such an open admission of weakness from someone so proud and stubborn. He wanted to reassure her, but found that he had no idea how to. Her back straightened and the lines in her shoulder regained their definition, "But I will be fine. I am not going to slow down; we are going to get out of here."

"We are in a new part of the world, and should survey the area." He said somewhat uncomfortably. The weight of her brief admission of weakness hung awkwardly over him.

Kagome knew surveying the area was important, she knew she had to stand up and follow Sesshomaru. But she was also feeling so lethargic and, in the moment, her desire to do not outweighed the practicality of the inuyoukai's request. "No, I don't want to walk." She said as she lay down on the soft grass and curled up. Between the cool, soft grass and the warm sun, there was no way she was getting up.

"Miko." Sesshomaru said slowly. He wondered if this was the same woman who minutes ago had taken on an army of wolf demons.

"No." She whined as she curled up tighter, "I am so comfortable."

He had to survey the area, but he also could not leave her behind because he could return to find that she had been whisked to another part of the world without him, and if that happened it would be near impossible to find her. He had no choice but to pick her up. Kagome squealed as she suddenly felt herself lifted off the ground and flung over inuyoukai's shoulder. "We are surveying the area."

"Somehow this is simultaneously validating and demeaning." She knew she should fight him; demand his treat her better than a sack of rice. But then again, his shoulder was rather comfortable and he carrying her meant she did not have to walk.

There was something very wrong and Sesshomaru could feel it but he was not quite sure what exactly was wrong. A part of him had wanted to pick her up, albeit in a different, gentler fashion. But he had also known that was inappropriate and under normal circumstances Sesshomaru would never have given in to such an urge. But something was weakening his resolve, making it harder for him to say no to the things he wanted to do, but knew he should not and from the way Kagome was cooing over how soft his mokomoko was, he could tell he was not the only one whose self-control was being undermined.


	7. How To Break A Daiyoukai

**How To Break A Daiyoukai**

He sat zazen, his eyes closed, and his mind far away from the present. Whatever this new part of the world was, it was bad for his mind. He was losing control over his actions and words; his body kept slipping, doing and saying things he had explicitly instructed it not to. He could still feel the warmth of her calves from when he had carried the lazy miko over his shoulder and forced her to survey the area with him. Despite his forceful mental commands to himself, his hands had ventured up to her thighs. Luckily, he had maintained enough self-control to keep them just barely above her knees, but even that was much more intimate than he would have liked. Or so he told himself. That miko, and this placed, were toying with his mind and he resented it. Somewhat.

She was, without a doubt, the most infuriating creature he had ever come across. Yet anything that changed for the worst in her demeanour grated on his sense like an alarm. Even now, deep in his meditation, the sudden frustrated spike in her reiki and her haggard breathed jolted him into reality. He opened his eyes and what he saw caused his lips to curl in anger.

Kagome struggled to, at least, stay on her knees. The pain was white-hot and nearly blinding. She clutched her chest as though if she could stem the source of the pain, it would ease and she could stop trembling from the mind-numbing pain that flooded every inch of her body. It was as though she was being burnt, and flayed, and impaled all at the same time and there was nothing she could do about it but suffer. She struggled to look up at her incarnation who was trying to, once again, steal her soul. Kikyo had been killed, so how was she here again? How had she even found her way into this entrapment with her? Another wave of pain flooded her body and she screamed. She could feel her soul inching out of her.

Sesshomaru frowned at the miko standing in front of Kagome. He did not care that the two women looked alike, nor did he care that he had heard the second miko approach and he could not pick up a single scent off her. All he cared about was that Kagome was in pain and her pain was assaulting his senses. Without a second thought, he sent a clawed hand through Kikyo's back, but where he had expected to feel flesh and bone, he felt nothing. Not even blood. It was as though he had simply passed through air. He withdrew his hand and inspected the second miko's undamaged body. She was an illusion that he and Kagome were sharing, except for him she was a minor annoyance whilst for Kagome she was a walking nightmare.

He walked through Kikyo's apparition and stopped in front of Kagome so his form obscured Kikyo's. But this did nothing to alleviate Kagome's suffering. She just clutched her chest and writhed in pain as though she was being tortured. She looked up at him, her eyes full of pain and desperation, "It hurts Sesshomaru. My soul, please help. It hurts." He could smell the salt of her unshed tears. Sesshomaru had never felt so furious and helpless at the same time. He could not make it stop, but he could not just stand there and watch her suffer either. Kagome was infuriating, but she was actively infuriating. She was full of life, and fire, and blood-boiling disobedience. She had no business crying on her knees. The desperation in her voice clawed at his insides and for the first time in his life, Sesshomaru felt someone else's pain.

Against his better judgement, despite his mind screaming for his body to respect itself, he knelt in front of her. She looked at him, confusion showing through the pain in her eyes. He placed both hands on her shoulders and helped straighten her posture. "Miko, this is not real. The woman behind me, the pain you are feeling, they are all in your head. You can control this."

"It hurts. It is tearing out my soul, I can't." Her voice was small and shaky, far from the self-assured tone he was used to hearing. He never thought the day would come when he would wish for someone to be rude to him, but right now he would take obstinate Kagome over this one.

"Please make it stop." She pleaded. He had no idea what to do; he had already told her it was an illusion. What was he supposed to do, make it go away for her?

She was heaving, clutching her chest tightly, and crying. Sesshomaru stared at her as though she were metamorphosing into some alien creature. Tears, human tears in particular, had always perplexed him; humans were always crying about one thing or the other. But these tears were even worse; they from someone who had incessantly challenged him and, despite his deepest misgivings, someone who saw as an equal. He never cried and he would never be reduced to such desperate pleas for help, so he did not have the slightest clue what to do about her current state. All he could do was watch, and curse his own incompetence as she suffered.

She leaned forward and threw her arms around him. Sesshomaru froze, his shock turned into panic when he felt her go limp against him. He automatically began to assume the worst, but a sharp intake of breath reassured him that she was still alive and, for the first time since he had been pulled out of his meditation, he felt a slight relief wash over him. He could hear her struggling to keep her breaths deep and even through the pain. It was taking all her energy just to keep herself breathing properly, and just keeping upright had become too much for her. He wrapped his arms around her, in his attempt to comfort her. Even the more rational parts of his mind fell silent and allowed him to be her support.

Suddenly an idea struck him. If she needed to breathe calmly, he could help her focus. He could not make the pain go away, but he could help divert her focus. "Miko," He said almost softly, ignoring the feeling of her blunt nails digging into his shoulders. "You can feel me and you can hear my voice. Just focus on that. Right now, I am all that exists and all that you need to think about. Just focus on the sound of my voice."

As he talked, he could hear her breathing becoming less laboured. Slowly, she began to regain control of herself and she relied on his less and less for support. But she still held onto him and he still let her. He continued to speak throughout the night, reciting folklore and legends he had committed to memory whilst simultaneously monitoring her state. Finally, her breathing evened completely and her thrashing reiki settled around her softly. Sesshomaru looked behind him to find that the other miko was gone. It was over.

"Miko." He said, somewhere in his bid to help her focus, a strange softness had crept into his voice and firmly planted itself so that no matter how stern he tried to sound, it remained. He looked at her closed eyes and realised that she was asleep. He gently picked her up and lay her down beneath a nearby tree. He watched her as she slept; she looked so calm and peaceful that were it not for her unusually pale skin he would never had guessed what she had just gone through. He felt his chest swell with pride; her calm features and undisturbed sleep, those were his doing. Even without an enemy to defeat, he had still triumphed. He was Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Lands, and nothing could best him.

In an uncharacteristic impulsiveness, he took off his mokomoko and draped it over the sleeping miko. The more rational parts of his mind demanded his stopped, and walked away; she was a human and her welfare had nothing to do with him. But Sesshomaru pushed that voice aside and sat next to her sleeping form, his eyes turned up towards the sky. After all, he had to make sure she did not do something strange to his mokomkoko; the miko was unpredictable.

~…...~

Kagome curled into the softest thing she had ever felt. No, the second softest since Sesshomaru had let her ride his mokomoko during the fight with Naraku. She dug her fingers deeper into the fur, perhaps it was a tie.

She opened her eyes slowly, and then sat up sharply when she noticed that what she was holding onto. She furrowed her brows in confusion as she tried to understand why she was holding onto Sesshomaru's mokomoko when the daiyoukai was the kind who would most likely cut off her hands for so much as dreaming about touching it. Immediately, memories the previous night's events came flooding back and Kagome suddenly realised that Sesshomaru must have given her his mokomoko after helping her.

She had never been so confused in her entire life.

She could remember Sesshomaru's attempts to calm her down and talk her through the pain. She could remember him holding her up when she could no longer remain upright on her own. She could even remember him wrapping his arms around her and speaking to her gently. But she could not accept that it was reality.

A brief look around told her that the daiyoukai was probably on the other side of the clearing. It was a large area divided into two by a small line of trees. On one side was soft, green grass and a slow moving river, on the other side, was a hot spring waterfall. She remembered thinking that this new part of the world was a paradise with its lush grass, bright flowers, clear blue sky, and, most importantly, hot spring. But as the previous night's events had proven, it was far from paradise.

Kagome stepped around the trees and froze. The daiyoukai stood waist-deep in the hot spring, his head tilted up towards the sky as water from the water fall beat down his broad shoulders and ran off his chest. His silver hair pooled around him, barely obscuring the magenta stripes on his hips that disappeared below the waterline. If she thought her body had been betraying her before, seeing the daiyoukai like this made her realise that there were deeper depths she could sink to. She had never seen a being so statuesque and beautiful. His perfection was almost offensive.

"I trust you slept well, Miko." His voice pulled her out of her trance and immediately she realised that she was watching the daiyoukai bath she leapt around, turning her back to him. She could feel the heat of a blush rising to her cheeks. Sesshomaru chuckled under his breath at her modesty.

"D-Don't laugh at me." She stuttered in the most indignant way she could muster, but her voice gave away that she was very flustered.

"Do you seek to give me instructions?" Sesshomaru asked, his smooth baritone reminded her that this was the same voice that had talked her through her pain the entire night, and Kagome felt her stomach flutter in a manner that was simultaneously unsettling, yet pleasant. She dug her fingers into his mokomoko and willed herself to be more composed. "I can feel that." He said. Kagome instantly let go and the white fur fell to the ground. Realising that it had dropped, she immediately picked it up, all the while cursing herself for letting the sight of one arrogant man reduce her to a flustered mess.

"Look, I just came to say thank you for helping me yesterday. I don't know why you were so nice to me, but I am in your debt." She said.

Sesshomaru could tell from her rigid form that she was still uncomfortable and that fact amused him far more than he was willing to admit. "Your ceasing that insufferable act you call 'crying' was enough payment. You were grating on my senses and I needed you to stop." He could see her tensing at every word and that encouraged him to continue, "You refuse to master your mind, and you refuse to master your reiki. Your uselessness, miko, left me no other choice."

Kagome went from grateful to furious in record time. "You pompous jerk! Does it burn your soul to be nice or are you just the way you are because you don't understand what being nice it?" She snapped as she turned to face the daiyoukai. The moment she caught sight of his naked form she yelped and spun around again, but not before she noticed the beginnings of a smirk on his usually serious lips. "You think this is funny," She said, realisation slowly dawning upon her. All this time, he was simply goading her, winding her up like some toy and like the idiot she was, she always rose to the occasion and served as his entertainment. "You are doing this on purpose to get a reaction, aren't you? Ugh. I cannot believe this."

"Do not flatter yourself; you are not that interesting." He said flatly. Such cruel words, but in such a lovely, enchanting baritone that they still made her knees weak despite every fibre in her being screaming for her to have some self-respect. "That other miko you saw yesterday, why was she causing you so much pain?"

Kagome felt the air between them change. It was the same type of serious air that hung between them when they took on the wolf pack in the village.

At the very least, she owed him the truth. Arrogant or not, he had helped her and it was the least she could do. "That was Kikyo. I am her reincarnation. During the time Inuyasha and I were searching for Naraku, she was resurrected and she tried to take my soul. She did not completely succeed, but she ended up taking a part of it for a while."

"You walked around with an incomplete soul? Hn, that must not have been pleasant."

"It wasn't." The sadness in her voice did not sit well with the daiyoukai and suddenly he was the uncomfortable one. "It hurt in a strange absent manner. Some days it burned, especially when she was nearby; I think it was because my soul wanted to be complete. But I had a jewel to complete so I had to endure it."

Sesshomaru watched her through new eyes. Kagome was impressive before, with her raw power, bravery, and sense of pride. But this new information that, with an incomplete soul, she had walked around Japan and fought demons, made him respect her more. For hours she had endured the pain of having her soul ripped out of her, and she had retained consciousness. Perhaps he would stop giving her grief about not having mastered herself. Perhaps. "You have finally learned to speak the truth, Miko. It seems as though pain is good for you."

Kagome was about to retort when she realised the new manner in which he referred to her. "Wait, you are not calling me just 'woman' anymore. Have I graduated from 'woman' to 'miko'?"

"I must be feeling generous." He said dismissively. She was teasing him, and he was not sure how to reply. People did not tease the Lord of the West, they feared him.

"Generosity?" She said, making a great show of surprise and awe, "From the great Lord Sesshomaru of the West? I will mark this day down and remember it always. My children's children will remember this day."

"Miko," Sesshomaru said sternly. His patience with her was wearing thin as his discomfort at her amusement at his expense increased.

"Oh, take a joke Sesshomaru." She said lightly. With her back still turned to the bathing daiyoukai, she lowered herself onto the ground and gathered his mokomoko in her lap. "Laughter will add years to your life."

"Advice from a human? How long will you live to fifty? Sixty if time is particularly kind to you? It would seem that it is the laughter that is killing you." Sesshomaru cursed his inability to remain quiet. Words came into his mind, and before he could quell them they escaped his lips.

"Wherever do you get your sunny disposition from Sesshomaru? You are like my own personal sunshine." Kagome words dripped with sarcasm, and he could feel himself rising to the bait. No matter how hard he fought, the words still found their way into the open and encouraged her incessant chatter. He was growing to hate this world the most out of all the others.

~…...~

Inuyasha approached the demon huntress nervously. After Kagome's disappearance Shippo would not stop crying, so he had taken the kit back to Kaede's village and continued searching for his friend on his own. Sango looked up sharply, the hope in her eyes fading into fear when she saw the look on the hanyou's face.

"You still can't find her?"

Inuyasha shook his head, unable to speak. He had left her alone in the forest. He knew it was the border of the Eastern and Northern lands, and that borders were the most dangerous parts of the land, but he had ran off all the same. "Why would you even leave her alone in the first place? Is that the best you could do? She is gone for three years and the moment she comes back you leave just like you always did before?" The words of the pregnant demon-huntress hit a bitter note, and it took all his willpower not to snap at her. He had refused to tell anyone why he had to leave her, and so they all thought he did so because he was careless and thoughtless. But it was Kagome; he loved her more than life itself, but not one had ever believed that. Not even Kagome herself.

"I will find her. Miroku is looking, I am looking. You just take care of yourself, and I promise she will be here to see you and all your little brats." He huffed. He crossed his arms and turned away, "If you keep yelling at me like that I am going to stop coming to check on you. I am only here because Miroku made me promise to."

Sango settled, sensing the unfairness in her words she apologised, "I am sorry. I know you had your reasons for leaving even though you won't tell me. I am just so worried about her."

"Kagome's strong. She will be fine." Inuyasha said more for himself than for Sango. He was scared for her; it had been three days already and he had not so much as picked up her scent. He could not stand to lose her a fourth time. Twice as Kikyo, once when she disappeared through the well and it refused to open, and now? Again? No, he was going to find her, win her, and have the life and happiness he had earned.


	8. Resilience

**Resilience**

The spring water was suspiciously perfect. It just the right temperature for her, and the waterfall was just forceful enough to massage her tired shoulders, but not too strong so as to overwhelm her. Stepping out of the waters filled her with a deep sense of loss and she would have rushed back into the water were her fingers not beginning to prune. Kagome put on her clothes with the deliberate slowness of someone enjoying a rare serene moment. After the previous night's ordeal, every moment of peace felt precious. She could still remember yesterday's blinding pain from having her soul ripped out for hours. When Kikyo had actually stolen her soul, it had hurt for a few seconds at most. Yesterday's pain made those few seconds feel like nothing, it made the pain of an incomplete soul that she had endured for years almost laughable.

"Do you intend to sleep there, miko?" His tone was as cold and unfeeling as ever, but ever since he had talked her through the night of her pain whenever she heard his voice she could not help but feel safe and protected.

"Don't tell me that you miss me already." She teased. She would have given anything to see his face when she said that. She began to put on her clothes quickly so she could return to the other side of the trees. Once she went back, he would give her that absolutely irritated look that she now found almost endearing in the strangest way.

She bound behind the trees and what she saw locked her where she stood. They were all there; Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kikyo who upon Inuyasha's insistence had begun travelling with them towards the end of their battle with Naraku. Where she should have found happiness, all she could feel was a bitter fear.

"Why did you come back?" The hostility in Inuyasha's voice was like a slap and she staggered backwards. Her eyes searched the clearing for Sesshomaru, for some flash of white to indicate that he was there to help her, but there was nothing save her friends who could not even meet her eyes and an icy undead miko.

"W-What is going on?" Kagome stuttered.

"You were supposed to go home and stay home. We have Kikyo, she can detect the shards just as well as you, and can defend herself much better; she won't hinder us." Inuyasha said as he snaked his hand around Kikyo's waist.

"He is right," Sango's words hurt so much more, and Kagome had not known it was possible to feel more pain. But right now, her heart was nothing more than a hole in her chest ripped clean through by those she would sacrifice her life for. Those she had sacrificed her normal life, and future, for. "Saving you distracts us. Every single battle, Kagome, we have to save you and that makes it so much harder."

Kagome turned and ran. _'They are not real'_ she told herself, despite the pain of heartbreak making it difficult to even breathe, _'If it's not me or Sesshomaru, then it's an illusion.'_ She knew she should not let their words get to her, but this place made it impossible to control her emotions and no matter how much she tried to reason with herself, it was useless.

She reached the hot spring only to find Kikyo gazing serenely at herself in the water. "You know you were just my place holder. There is no use for you Kagome. If you died, they would mourn you for a day or two, but life would continue as is, no changes. If you had never come, the jewel would have remained intact." Hauntingly blank eyes looked up from the water and up to Kagome, sending chills down her spine, "All you presence has done is create trouble, that I had to come back from the dead to fix. You heard them, do us all a favour and leave." The Kikyo smiled a tight-lipped, taunting smile, "You know we were planning this, before I was killed again. Inuyasha suggested it, but you knew that already. Deep down, you could sense it."

Kagome forced her legs to move. "It's fake Kagome, it's all lies." She chanted to herself as she ran. She was crying and her throat was closing up, making it difficult to breath. She slowed, and then stopped. Turning her head up to the sky she yelled at whomever was orchestrating this living nightmare, "You obviously do not know me very well, because if you are trying to break me, you have to work much much harder than this."

The voice was soft, almost pitying, "What is the point of trying to break something that was born broken?"  
Kagome turned to face Inuyasha, "The only good thing you did for this era was bring Kikyo back so she could help fix _your_ mess." His voice grew louder and harsher with each word.

"Sit!" Kagome, frustrated, yelled. But nothing happened. The hanyou remained standing and the rest of her friend stood behind him. She took a deep breath, remembered the small breathing exercises Sesshomaru had talked her through the night before, "That is not true, I sacrificed everything for this era."

"Well, we left you alone for three years. What did you achieve in that time?" At Inuyasha's words Kagome felt the composure she had gathered began to falter, "Nothing. You can't use us as an excuse for your failure both in your time and in ours."

"It is evident that the problem with your life is that you are the one living it." Kikyo's words cut deep and hit a very new insecurity.

Kagome placed her palms against her temples and pushed, hoping the pressure would ease the throbbing. "Fine. I am useless. You don't think I _know_ that? You don't think I _live_ that every day?"

She was not sure whether she had lost her resolve, or found it. Either way she sat on the ground and crossed her legs underneath herself neatly. She was tired; it was evident that she could not outrun her friends, and if whoever was in charge wanted her to hear this, to suffer living out her deepest fear, then so be it. "Come on," Kagome waved, her new found madness giving her more strength, "Tell me all you have to say, and then I dare you to tell me something I don't already know."

Sesshomaru watched from a distance. Given that she was in no physical danger and no insurmountable pain, he chose to remove herself from this battle. It was personal and unless she could fight it on her own, his interference would only hinder her. Her fear was so thick he could almost taste it, and the salt in the air from her tears was nearly unbearable. Kagome's crying unsettled him more than anything else and he felt a visceral urge to stop it. But he forced himself to remain at a distance; she had to learn to tune out her fears on her own. If he swept in to save her, she would never learn. He watched her sit down and tuck her legs beneath her. "Come on." Her voice carried out to him.

"Are you done?" Kagome asked. Her tears had long dried on her cheeks and the words, all though they still hurt, had lost their edge.

"You are done." She hated how her spirits now lifted at the sound of his voice. The night before had conditioned her like some animal, and now she could not shake her association of his voice with safety and hope, no matter how hard she tried. "You don't have to listen to this anymore."

"And I had to before?" Kagome asked, her words sharp and almost angry. Sesshomaru was caught off guard; he had not thought she would have expected him to be there for her. In her eyes he was cold and ruthless. But perhaps, in a strange turns of events, she had changed her mind.

"As I said, pain is good for you." Sesshomaru sat in front of her, placing himself between herself and the images of her friends who were still trying to speak to her.

Kagome looked the daiyoukai up and down, "heartless jerk." She muttered under her breath. He ignored her words,

"And what would my presence have done? All I could have done was help you ignore words you needed to confront." He said in that untouchable monotone. He saw her eyes wandering to the apparitions behind him, and he saw her eyes start to glaze over with tears. "Miko," He said sternly, drawing her attention back to him, "I said you are done."

"You don't understand. They are right."

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at her and for the first time in a long time, he was disgusted with her. Her lack of confidence was not appealing in the slightest. "I am going to say this once so you will stop trying to share your problems with me. You are wrong, they are wrong, and I do not care." He said in the most distant tone he could muster, but he might as well had just told her that he did not believe she was weak, because that is what she heard and it made her smile. Sesshomaru looked away; knowing that he had been able to make her smile despite the situation made his chest constrict and he did not like the feeling, nor did he plan on acknowledging it. "I said I do not care, that is nothing to smile about."

"Yes, you said you do not care, but you came anyway." Her eyes were wandering to the illusions behind him again. He could not understand why she would ever fear being called weak; she was far from it. Even just sitting across from her, he could feel the power radiating off her. Her only discernible problem was that she had no idea what to do with all that power.

"You need to occupy yourself, learn something new. Being stagnant is bad for the mind and the soul."

"Oh," Kagome leaned forward, trying her hardest to ignore Inuyasha and Kikyo's harsh words. "So what am I supposed to occupy myself with?"

"Learn to master you mind and rein in your reiki. I have told you enough times that it grates on my senses." Sesshomaru said.

"How?" Kagome asked in the same tone she would have used if he had asked her to 'just fly'.

"Sit there and focus on controlling your mind and your reiki. I suspect you have never done so before."

Kagome heard him stand up, and in a moment of mischief pushed out her reiki towards him. It clashed with his youkai for a few moments and a few sparks flew as the opposing forces battled.

"Miko, be serious." Sesshomaru snapped. He looked from the seated miko to the image of Inuyasha and the miko from before, Kikyo was it? He had heard more than enough of the illusion's taunts to know what had made her distrust his half-brother so much. These illusions taunting her was not random fears, they were the ones that stalked her nightmares and hung over her days threatening to become real. He looked from the illusions to Kagome, whom he could now sense was finally attempting to do something that resembled controlling her reiki.

It dawned on him that given the way he had treated her over the past few weeks her next waking nightmare might very well be him. His heart beat quickened at that thought, almost as though he was afraid. But that could not be the reason; there was nothing for him to fear, not from the miko who was still struggling to do something as simple as gather her excess reiki.

"Miko," He said sharply and impatiently, overcompensating for his moment of weakness, "simply gather your excess reiki and rein it in. Afterwards you can focus it wherever you want. It is not that difficult."

"Oh, ok, not that difficult. Let me teach you some advanced math or physics and we will see what's 'not that difficult'." Kagome muttered under her breath.

It was as though it were impossible for her to shut up, "You can't meditate without – " Sesshomaru said.

"Shh," Kagome said, cutting him off, "I am trying focus here."

Sesshomaru looked at her; she was making a great effort to remain focused despite the fading voice of the illusions. Somewhere along the way she had stopped being irritating and become rather amusing.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Sorry guys, as I am back in school updates will be much slower. :( I hope you still stick with the story as I enjoy having your support.**_


	9. Self-Control

**Self-Control**

Kagome closed her eyes as the warm spring water sprayed over her shoulders. She closed her eyes and turned her head up towards the sky. With as much concentration as she could muster, she practiced reining in her reiki. It was a slow and arduous task, but she eventually managed to gather all her excess reiki and maintain it close to her. It had taken almost two days, and it was in no way easy to do, but at least Sesshomaru could stop whining about her 'untamed' aura. Out of curiosity, she tried to focus her now contained reiki, compressing it near her fingertips, she felt a small spark and her eyes flew open in surprise.

"Kagome." Hidden in his usual expressionless monotone was a sense of urgency that drove her to step out of the springs immediately and get dressed as quickly as she could. The moment she broke through the line of trees she stopped. There was a stone archway in the middle of the clearing, and she could swear on her life that it had not been there when she had left for the hot spring. She stepped forward cautiously, and searched the archway for any sense of a dark aura. She found nothing except the same reiki that stretched over this part of the world. "What is that?" She asked as she stood beside Sesshomaru who was running his claws hands against the uneven stone.

"An archway. Can you not see?"

"Be serious Sesshomaru."

The daiyoukai turned to look at her and for a moment their gazes held, the irony of their exchange hung between them tempting both parties to laugh.

"Gosh, I have spent too much time with you." Kagome laughed. She rested her hand on his upper arm and followed his amber eyes as they ran over the strange archway.

The feeling of her hand on his upper arm fought for prominence in his mind. "Should we walk through it? I am pretty sure it is the way out." He heard her words, but barely registered them because he was more focused on her, most likely thoughtless, touch that was simultaneously heavy and pleasant. She slid her hand off him, and he felt every last bit of contact, even the light touch of her fingers grazing away. It took a lot for Sesshomaru to admit that he wanted her to put her hand back where it was.

"We should walk through. I tire of these useless games." He finally managed to speak.

"But what if it separates us? This seems like an actual portal." The worry in her voice was unmistakable. He had thought of that as well; as he seemed to be an accidental tag-along in a game that was obviously built for Kagome, it was very likely that whoever was orchestrating everything sought to get rid of him. He refused to let that happen.

"Miko," He held out his hand for her. She looked at him, then down at his outstretched hand, and then back at him. Kagome slipped her hand into his. She knew her heart was racing not because of they were about to step through the unknown archway, but because of the way his skin felt against hers. She felt her heart leap into her throat and at that moment Kagome Higurashi knew her heart had gone and done something rather stupid.

Even as he laced his fingers with hers, Sesshomaru told himself that it was purely out of necessity; they could not afford to be separated. The reassuring weight of her hand in his meant nothing. "Are you ready?"

Kagome looked up at him and nodded.

"Very well." Sesshomaru said as he led her through the archway. To be honest, Kagome had expected something more theatrical; perhaps a bright light or a falling sensation. But when she stepped through the archway all she felt was a gust of cold wind. Less than twenty feet ahead of her the ground ended and gave way to an endless blue-grey sky. She looked behind her to find that the rock on which she was again ended about twenty feet away from her.

"I don't like this." Kagome moaned in disappointment. After the comfort of the previous world, a cold, hard, rocky cliff was the last thing she wanted to be stuck on.

"It will pass." His smooth, detached voice reminded Kagome of Sesshomaru's presence and suddenly she became acutely aware of the weight of his hand in his and she drew away sharply as though his very touch burned her. She held her hand close to her chest as their interactions over the past few days hit her like iced water waking her up to reality. She remembered how she had clung onto him that night she felt her soul being stolen, the border-line flirtatious words she had exchanged with him, the sight of him in the hot springs, and worst of all, how her stomach fluttered at the mere sound of his voice. In the previous world none of it had mattered, because inhibitions were merely a theory. But right now she was too flustered to even look away from him.

The sudden return of their inhibitions once again stifled their interactions and the two were back to keeping each other at an arm's length.

Sesshomaru noticed the marked shift in her demeanour and he steeled himself, pushing out the feelings he had let creep into him whilst his defences were down. He walked a few feet away from her and sat down, his eyes focused on the sky in front of him. He was being reckless; normally he should have surveyed the area before settling down. However, he could see all around him and the only place to survey would be over the cliff which would require him flying. He could not leave Kagome behind, but to fly with her he would have to hold her. From the way she had pulled her hand away so sharply he could tell that the last thing she wanted was him touching her in anyway, a fact he could understand and given the events of the past few days, deemed was probably for the best. His carefully crafted control was slipping, over a human no less. Letting his eyelids fall shut, Sesshomaru took a deep, measured breath. He had to regain his senses.

Kagome eventually sat down where she stood and tucked her legs underneath her. She tried to distract herself by imagining what lay beneath the cliff, but after a short while she began to start feeling the long forgotten sting of loneliness. She stole a glance at the daiyoukai whose eyes were still firmly fixed beyond the cliff. Even though he was not looking at her, the awkwardness between them thickened the air and made it difficult to ignore the other's presence. Kagome had words she wanted to say to him; she still had so many things she was yet to tease him about. But she let the words sit on her tongue like lead because after the way her heart leapt at his touch, just to speak to him felt like a betrayal of Inuyasha. Whilst she had turned down his offer, he was still her best friend and his feelings were still as important to her as her own, if not more so.

Kagome crossed her legs underneath her and allowed closed her eyes. Focusing on the edges of her reiki that were beginning to stray, she pulled it in tightly around her and began to work on controlling her power. If she mastered controlling her mind and her power, maybe she could eventually learn to control her wandering heart.

The silence was heavy, but both parties were stubborn and strong, and so they bore it.

Kagome impressed herself with her focus. Perhaps because she was trying so hard to ignore the world around her, she was finally able to leave everything behind so all that existed, all that mattered, was herself and the reiki she was currently manipulating with increasing ease. A sudden jolt and rush of cold wind pulled her out of her own mind and Kagome's eyes flew open just in time to see a massive snake youkai with disproportionately tiny arms lifting its head from that spot she had been sitting on just moment ago.

Sesshomaru loosed his grip on her waist and allowed her to stand on her own feet. "You are not supposed to become blind to your surroundings miko, not unless you want to die." He said coolly, his eyes trained on the youkai that was weaving back and forth as it assessed Kagome for weak spots. To anyone else it would have sounded as though he could not care less if she lived or died, but Kagome had spent enough time with the daiyoukai to recognise his reprimands. She hated that she could read him so well because it made it harder for her to forget that there was a person underneath all those layers of ice and indifference, a person she found rather attractive.

The snake demon inched towards Kagome. Lifting its head it reared back and dove in to strike. Sesshomaru raced up towards the demon, giving Kagome time to roll away and grab her bow and arrows. As his claws dug into the underside of the snake's head, the snake's purple blood dripped onto him and he could feel the poison in its blood burning away at his haori. He leapt away and landed gracefully at Kagome's side, "Don't let its blood touch you Miko." He said sternly as he ripped off the sleeve of his disintegrating haori.

Kagome nodded sharply and nocked an arrow. Already she could see the wound on the underside of the snake's head stitching itself shut.

Sesshomaru brows set in a determined line and drew he materialised his whip. He could already see this turning into a rather annoying battle.

The snake hissed at the miko and she fired an arrow right between its eyes. It fell to the ground, writhed in pain as he powers purified it, but quickly overcome the reiki in her arrow and rose again. No matter what she and Sesshomaru did, it always stitched itself back together and rose again. It was like the most annoying dance of resilience and the enemy was seemingly invulnerable.

...

Kagome was tired. Her knees where scratched and bloody from skidding and rolling around the cliff trying to avoid the snake's monstrous tail and venomous blood.

Sesshomaru was more frustrated than he had been in a very long while. He had cleaved the snake in half, beheaded it, poisoned it, even ripped through it with his bare claws yet it kept rising and weaving towards Kagome with that annoying, bloodlust filled hiss.

"How do we kill it Sesshomaru? I am out of ideas." Kagome panted. He could see the tiredness in her eyes, but he was just as lost as she was.

He was never one to leave things half-finished, but in this case Sesshomaru could think of no other alternative, "We will throw it over the cliff."

"Without killing it?" Kagome asked. The pity she had felt for the possessed youkai had slowly faded and all she wanted was to sit in peace for five minutes.

"Can you kill it?" His words were tinged with sarcasm. Kagome remained silent, conceding to him. There was nothing else they could do.

Kagome notched an arrow and sent it flying straight into the demon's chest. It staggered backwards and fought her purifying powers. Before it could regain its footing, Sesshomaru lunged straight for it, his claws forcing it closer and closer to the edge. It was already healing itself, but the relentless barrage of poisoned claws and purified arrows kept pushing it backwards.

In a desperate attempt, it whipped its tail forward and wrapped itself around Kagome. It looked at the miko, blood red boring straight into her, and hissed. Kagome felt the snake tightened around her, crushing the air from her.

Sesshomaru froze, his lips curling up into a bitter snarl. He heard Kagome scream in pain and he felt an all-consuming, white-hot rage flare throughout his body and for a moment his control slipped. But he quickly reigned in his more feral side; if he lost control he would cut mercilessly through the snake and that risked its venomous blood spilling on the miko. If he harmed the snake further it would tighten its grip, believing the miko to be the source of its pain as it could not see him.

Sesshomaru looked at Kagome's trapped form. Yet again, he felt helpless. Fear, panic, and anger coursed through him in alternating waves that threatened to make him lose control to his inner beast.

Kagome could see the red bleeding into Sesshomaru's eyes. He was struggling to keep it at bay, but she had learned to read him well enough to know that he could lose the battle with himself.

The snake hissed at her and tightened its grip. Her pain gave her to anger, and because she had been spending far too much time with the stoic daiyoukai, irritation.

She closed her eyes and begged for her idea to work. Focusing as much as she could through the pain of the snake's tightening grip, she dug deep and scraped the bottom of her spirit for every last bit of reiki she could produce and forced it out of her whilst keeping it as tightly packed around her as possible. She began to feel the pressure building up, but fought to keep herself under control. She could her Sesshomaru's condescending voice in the back of her berating her inability to control her reiki. Well he would see. "Sesshomaru, if you don't want to be purified I suggest you move."

He leapt backward, his eye never leaving Kagome. The sheer force of her contained reiki whipped the air around her, sending her dark hair flying around her. Even from this distance he could feel the pressure. When she finally let loose he found himself more thankful than ever that he was invulnerable to human attacks; the sting from her released power was more than enough evidence than were he any lesser, he would be tending serious purification burn wounds.

With a flash of his whip he sent the half of the snake demon that she had not purified flying over the cliff.

He sped towards Kagome and reached her just as her knees gave way. He wrapped his arm around her waist, steadying her. "Did you see that?" He could hear the excitement and pride through her tired and slurred words. Her eyes fell closed and she slumped against him, the sudden release of so much reiki had completely drained her.

Sesshomaru picked her up gently and lay her down on a clean patch of the ground. She had fought well, and even managed to save herself. He looked at her and noticed the wind pushing her hair against her face. She had fought too well for him to leave her shivering on a bare rock so he took off his mokomoko and draped it over her.

He sat upwind from her, his body blocking the worst of the cold air. Sesshomaru folded his arms across his chest and looked up at the grey sky. He could practically hear his father laughing at him; the proud Sesshomaru sitting upwind to prevent a human from being slightly cold. ' _Whatever respect I have for her would not come to anything; it is merely that, respect._ ' He addressed his words as much to the memory of his father as to himself.


	10. Instincts

**Instincts**

Kagome dug her fingers into the soft white fur and curled deeper into the mokomoko. Burying her face in the fur she enjoyed the slight tingle of the familiar youkai against her skin. It was so soft and comforting that she quite forgot where she was and what had just happened. It took her a full five minutes to fully comprehend what she was doing and the moment she did, she sat up with a start and pushed the white fur away from herself.

She noticed Sesshomaru watching her with a guarded gaze, and she blushed. She gathered his mokomoko and held it out to him, "T-thank you." She managed to stutter after a few unsuccessful tries. She was so flustered that her words refused to link together into coherent sentences.

"It's cold." He said. For the first time in days Kagome could not read anything in his voice beyond his usual careful detachment.

She pushed the furs further towards him, "No, no. I am fine. Thank you." She was careful to avoid his eyes.

Sesshomaru wordlessly took his mokomoko and they fell into yet another awkward silence. Kagome twisted her hands in her lap. It was getting worse and worse. For every inappropriate thought about the daiyoukai she forced out of her mind, five more found their way in. She could still feel the softness of his furs draped around her, and still hear their easy laughs from the previous world where they had no inhibitions. She had never gotten the image of him standing in the hot springs out of her mind and waking up to his mokomoko had only served to reinforce that image. She hated herself for having these feeling for Sesshomaru of all people. She knew it was wrong; he was Inuyasha's brother and the two had made their dislike for each other more than clear. Although she had turned down Inuyasha's offer to be his mate, he was still her best friend and she could not hurt him this way.

He could feel her losing control over her reiki again but he said nothing and allowed the silence to drag on. He had always enjoyed quiet, but something about this silence was unsettling and made it difficult for him to think let alone clear his mind, but at the same time he did not know how to break it.

She had barely gathered herself when the ground beneath them began to tilt again. Kagome scrambled to her feet and grabbed her bow and arrows before they could slip down and off the cliff. Sesshomaru reached out for her but before he could grab her hand an irritatingly familiar snake youkai struck the ground between them, cracking the rock and sending Kagome sliding further downwards. Her fingers grasped for anything to hold onto but the rock was too smooth and the small protruding edges she managed to find broke off under her weight.

Sesshomaru looked at the snake, its eyes were trained on the miko, its massive head weaved side to side almost hypnotically as it assessed the best angle from which to strike. Kagome was slipping. The daiyoukai let out a low, almost feral growl before abandoning his target and rushing towards Kagome. He reached her just before the snake struck the ground where she had been. The whole cliff was turning over and with no other choice, Sesshomaru allowed both he and Kagome to be knocked off and they went sailing down into the chasm.

He felt a vague sense of panic wash over him as he tried to fly but found himself unable to. He was being pulled down and away. They both fought to hold onto each other, but some force reminiscent of the reiki that surrounded the world was forcing them apart. It forced her arrows out of her hand and actively repelled the daiyoukai so any effort he made to hold onto her was futile. He could feel a rage like no other welling up inside of him, his inner beast tugged so ferociously at its mental chains that he thought he was going to lose control. If he was separated from his miko, he would tear the whole entrapment apart if that was what it took to find her again. Then he would find who was in charge and make them regret having ever crossed him.

"Sesshomaru!" He could hear her voice in the distance as she was pulled farther and farther away from him. Her arrows stayed with him, whilst she was forced far away on her own. He stretched his youki through the rushing wind of the chasm and found her reiki stretching out for him as well. He needed to hold onto her somehow. Sesshomaru would never say so out loud, but he needed her close and safe almost like he needed to breathe.

When their two auras met gold and pink spark sputtered briefly and died. The sudden loss of resistance sent their aura spiralling past each other so forcefully that before he could pull back his youki reached inside her and her reiki inside him, in a moment of intimacy so profound it paralysed his thoughts. They saw into each other's true nature; parts that might be hidden even from themselves, opened up to the other.

Kagome hit the ground hard. She felt the wind knocked out of her lungs and her brain hit the back of her skull. Magenta and green spots danced before her eyes as she struggled to stand up. She felt as though the ground was still tilting and after staggering back and forth, she collapsed to the ground again. Her head was spinning and her vision was fading in and out with the spots periodically replaced by nothing but darkness. She lowered her head and blinked rapidly as she tried to restore her vision. There was also the question of Sesshomaru, but the idea of being separated from him was more that she was willing to bear so Kagome simply contented herself with the fact that she could feel him on the edge of her senses and focused instead of recovering.

After a few minutes her vision cleared and she was able to stand up although the ground still swayed slightly. Sesshomaru still had not shown up but she could _feel_ him nearby. Kagome stepped forward carefully; her vision was still swimming and the last thing she wanted to do was fall down again. "Sesshomaru?" She walked forwards even further and then looked around. No sign of the daiyoukai. She could feel her heart slamming against her ribcage. As her balance steadied she began to run, searching for him. She refused to believe that she had lost him.

Her leg burned. Her lungs, not having quite recovered from the impact of her fall, struggled to take in the deep breath needed for her physical exertion, but she forced herself to keep running, keep searching. One way or another, she was going to find him and there was no question about that.

The ground beneath her shook and she fell over. She was standing up again when she heard a howl that caused her blood to freeze in her veins. "Sesshomaru?" She said in a small, hopeful voice.

An enormous brown wolf burst through the trees. It fixed its blood-red eyes on her and growled a deep, threatening growl.

No arrows, no Sesshomaru. Kagome turned and ran.

In two steps the wolf was over her. She desperately began to gather her reiki around her. It placed a heavy paw on her chest and she let her reiki loose in a violent burst of pink light. The wolf howled in pain and quickly withdrew it's now burned leg. It glared at her with even angrier red eyes, its lips curling to reveal fangs almost as big as her. She scrambled backwards. She was not as exhausted from releasing her reiki as she had been the first time she had done so, but she was still too tired to do it again.

The wolf, sensing her tiredness, inched towards her.

….

Sesshomaru felt his fall slow, and then gradually stop. The first thing he noticed were the hundreds of orbs floating around him. Reaching out for the nearest one, he pulled it closer to him and inspected it. Inside he could see a lesser wolf demon pacing a clearing restlessly. He let it go and watched as it slowly drifted back into place. So those where the worlds he had been trapped in and moved between upon the completion of some task. He looked around him; there was a stairway a ways ahead and hundreds of orbs around him. Somehow, he must have 'fallen' out.

He looked to the stairs, and then back to the orbs. His claws itched for the person who had trapped him, but he could not bring himself to move ahead without Kagome.

He knew where she was even without searching. He could feel her and simply had to trust his instincts to lead him to her. From the moment he had touched his soul and she had bared it to him, he would always know where she was. He was certain that even though they were separated by this strange magic, she could feel him as well. Pulling the orb containing his miko towards him, he peered into it and what he saw caused his blood to boil.

His eyes bled red and he struck the orb with his elongated claws. He could feel the reiki around it resisting him, but he continued. He pushed forth his youki, demanding that the spell break. Each step the wolf took towards pushed his to use more force until purple and gold sparks flew. He kept digging his claws in with all his strength, willing the spell to break.

…

Kagome yelped and used her arm to shield her face as purple and gold spark rained down from the sky. A gold and purple aurora cut the sky in two and for a moment she forgot about the wolf hunting her down. A loud howl pulled her back into reality and she scurried away even farther.

The wolf howled again, but this time instead of fear all it elicited in her was an intense pity. The wolf led out another pained howl and whimpered as it backed away. It snapped it the air, dug its claws into the soil and contorted its body as it growled, whined, and howled. If she did not know better, she would think the wolf way fighting itself.

She took a cautious step backwards as the wolf's blue aura began to swirl around it. She could see wisps of purple around the aura, as though it were trying to contain the demon's youki. The realisation slowly dawned on her; it was tainted reiki. Some dark priest or priestess had found a way to control the demon and now that it was trying to fight back, the dark reiki was purifying its youki.

"One day I will get myself killed." She muttered under her breath as she cautiously made her way towards the wolf. It was digging its claws into the soil, its whimpers growing more heart wrenching as the reiki fought to purify it. She reached out and grabbed a handful of brown fur. If the wolf noticed her, it was in too much pain to acknowledge her presence. Kagome reached deep and scraped together the last bit of reiki she could find. Mustering the last of her energy, she wrapped her reiki around all the dark reiki, stretching her day beyond what she knew was possible. She felt almost as though her she was emptying herself.

She could feel herself becoming light-headed from the sheer over exertion but a lower, even more heart wrenching whimper reminded her why she had to press on. She let out a deep breath and with the last of her energy, purified the dark reiki. Once she felt the last of the dark energy dissipating, she allowed herself collapse onto her knees. She was just too tired to continue.

"Miko." A gentle yet undoubtedly strong voice forced her to snap her eyes upwards, a motion which sent her reeling with pain as her brain seemed to explode in her skull. There were two things wrongs with what her eyes were telling her and she did not know whether to try and make sense of the gold and purple lights pulsing in the sky, or to make sense of the dark haired man who was now looking down at her.

"Who are you?" She asked, deciding that knowing whether he was going to hurt her or not was slightly more pressing than the lights dancing above them. She did not even bother trying to stand.

He straightened his posture and fixed his glacial gaze on her. "Gendo, Chief of the Eastern Wolves." He noticed the slight twitch of her eye. "Is there a problem?" He asked, his words were no warmer than his eyes.

"No, no." Kagome waved him off, "It's just I know the Chief of the Eastern Wolves, and his name is Kouga."

Whatever animosity he held for her fell away and his eyes softened into an inviting moss green, "Kouga? He is chief? You know him?"

"Yes, he is one of my friends. You know him as well?" She asked,

"He is my son." The wolf demon said, allowing a soft smile to creep onto his features. When he smiled Kagome saw the resemblance; they had the same strong brows and defiant features. "Is he fine? How is the clan? No, don't answer that. I know he was not ready to take over; he was merely a child, a wild one at that."

Kagome reached out and touched his arm comfortingly. It was a feeling that was now so foreign to him and he let himself, just for a moment, enjoy the company. "Kouga is doing just fine. He married the daughter of the chief of the Northern Wolves." At her words he drew away sharply. There had been a time when he had found humans amusing, and might even have humoured her attempt at sympathy, but that was long before his imprisonment here, long before that priest poisoned his mind and made him, the first wolf daiyoukai, run around like some crazed lower level demon unable to control his own instincts.

Kagome could see the ice in his eyes reforming, "Does he have his markings?" Gendo asked, it sounded as though he was almost challenging her assertion that Kouga was fine.

Kagome looked at the vertical burgundy stripe on each cheek. She shook her head and his reiki flared, hot and angry. He quickly calmed himself.

"What matters is he is alive. I cannot expect a human to know the state of demon affairs."

The way he said the word 'human' annoyed her to no end, but she choose to be the bigger person. "Mindlessly hating humans will never make us go away. I think humans and demons can live perfectly well together, so as a good faith gesture let me tend to your arm." She said reached for his badly burnt left arm. It was raw and held patched of burnt skin.

"The arm you nearly burnt off with your poorly controlled reiki? I would rather you didn't." His words were cold and spiteful again. Whatever goodwill Kouga's name had brought between them was apparently finished and he was back to barely tolerating her continued existence.

"You tried to _kill_ me." Kagome said defensively.

"Not of my own will. A holy human _forced_ me to." His voice grew louder with every words and through his anger she could see Kouga, "I have been trapped here for over three hundred years by one of you 'holy' people, and you expect me to just trust you? What kind of fool are you?"

Kagome forced herself to her feet so she could at least attempt to be eye-level with him. A largely futile attempt given his towering height, but it was the effort that counted. "You do not know me, so you have no right to speak to me like that. I did not know who you were, you had just tried to kill me and yet when I saw you were in pain I _helped_. Stupid, I know. But doesn't that earn me at least some civility?"

He squared his shoulders and glared at her, "Filth does not deserve anything, you humans are a stain on this earth."

A loud slap reverberated through the valley. She had no idea how she had managed to muster the strength to slap him with such force, but she was glad she had because Kagome refused to be talked down to. Even Sesshomaru had not been so blatantly insulting. "I had nothing left, yet I found it in me to help you. I don't want you to go on your knees thanking me. Must the least you can do, the honourable thing to do, is recognise that I am at least a person." She balled her hands into fists at her side. It was becoming too much for her again. She took a brief moment to bask in the warm reassurance of Sesshomaru's youki pulsing in the sky above her and somehow it energised her.

Gendo stared. No woman, demon or otherwise, had ever dared laid a hand on him outside battle. "Are you mad?" He asked slowly, his curiosity was creeping up on him, "Are you truly that foolish?"

"No, I am that angry." She snapped. She saw him opening his mouth to speak and quickly spoke over him, "If you are going to threaten me, save it. I have quite had enough of them from one taiyoukai, I don't need another harping at me."

His curiosity gripped his forcefully and sank its meddling claws into his mind so he could not shake off the multitude of questions. "Another taiyoukai? I don't see anyone."

"We got separated, " her shoulder slumped and she let herself look as tired as she truly was. She lifted her head up to the sky and sighed, her anger quite forgotten, "I can feel his youkai up there but I have no idea how to get to him. What do I do now?"

"You can feel youkai from this distance?" Gendo asked, his eyes never leaving the tired miko. If she could indeed sense a taiyoukai from so far away, then she was not a priestess to be trifled with.

"Yes, but I can't tell what that other light is. I can also tell that he is really stressed, which is funny because he'd never let it show. I guess that's what happens when you spend so much time together." Her was light, and if he had to guess, he would say she sounded a bit happier when she spoke about this taiyoukai. Gendo narrowed his eyes and for the first time he truly looked at her. Which kind of priestess would bind herself to a youkai? There were humans who would, but a priestess? Never. But what else would explain her ability to feel this taiyoukai, and only him, for so far away and at such a personal level.

"What is this taiyoukai to you? A mate? A potential mate?" He asked. A blunt question, but Gendo had never been one for games.

"What?" Her eyes jumped from the sky to the wolf demon, "No. No. No." She said that, but her cheeks were turning far too red for her to truly mean it. "We are friends. I think, or not. I don't even know, I am probably just a nuisance to him and that's fine. It's not like he's the easiest person to be around either."

There is was. Denial, so much denial on her part. But what irked him more than her denial was that somehow his taiyoukai had managed to form a very intimate bond with her, without her consent and that was exceptionally low and practically barbaric. "So are you just going to stand her or are you going to shoot your reiki up there to see if you can reunite with your long lost taiyoukai? The lonliness must be killing him." He drawled.

Kagome flushed bright red again, "He's not _my_ taiyoukai. And I don't know what you mean, how do I 'shoot' my reiki all that way."

"What do you mean how? You broke that spell over me, a spell I couldn't break, so you are obviously very powerful, and you must be skilled if you can control your reiki so well; I can barely sense it even standing so close to you."

"I just learned how to gather it. Don't judge me." Kagome said defensively. "What is it with you people?"

His mouth fell open slightly, revealing canine that were far too long, "What do you mean you just learned? Are you not trained?"

"No, I am not. Sesshomaru just taught me how to control my reiki."

He froze. He must have heard wrong; he was certain he heard wrong. "What did you say? Are you speaking of _Lord_ Sesshomaru?"

"Right, yes _Lord_. I keep on forgetting." Her voice was dry and teetering on sarcasm.

Sesshomaru despised humans. There was no way the taiyoukai of the West would bind his soul to a human priestess. And yet, here she was speaking of him with such familiarity, according to her he had even helped her control her powers. "I don't believe you." He said flatly, "Sesshomaru hates humans."

"Not all humans, but probably me." She said half-joking.

"Sesshomaru is not kind enough to help a priestess control her powers." He added. She simply shrugged,

"He just likes to put on airs, but he is not that bad." He flinched at her words but forced himself to remain calm, "How do you know him?" she asked.

Gendo bit on his bottom lip to quell his rage, "I know him because he left my tribe to die."

Kagome stared dumbly, lost for words. She wanted to defend Sesshomaru, assert that he must have had a reason, but what kind of reason could possibly justify that?

"Sit." Gendo's words caught her off guard and she furrowed hr brows in confusion. He lowered himself to the ground and crossed his legs underneath him, "Sit, miko. I am going to teach you a way to stretch your reiki farther than you thought possible, and perhaps we can find a way out of here; I have a few things to finish with you taiyoukai _friend_."

Kagome obediently lowered herself to the ground. She wanted to say something, anything. But Gendo had this look in his eyes, a look she had seen enough times in Inuyasha and in Kouga, to know that now was not the time to play mediator.

* * *

 **A/N:** So I am finally back, I just finished the term and thought I would upload another chapter!


	11. Heel

**Heel**

"Ah! Woman, what are you doing?" Gendo roared.

"Sit still." Kagome sighed as she wrapped his burnt arm with the strip of cloth he had ripped from his black haori. He had twitched and jumped from the moment she began tending his burn, and at this point his whining was almost routine.

"You don't understand what purification burns are, do you?" His tone was still aggressive, but Kagome paid him no heed.

"No, but I understand that if you keep moving like that it will only hurt more." She said as she wrapped his arm as gently as she could, given his incessant twitching and jumping.

"It never stops burning, not until it heals. And it takes forever to heal."

"I said I was sorry." She said as she tied the end of the cloth, "But in my defence you were trying to kill me."

Gendo looked at her handiwork and nodded in approval. Kagome looked at him expectantly and the wolf stubbornly remained silent. She finally broke and huffed, "You are welcome. Manner don't hurt you know."

"You were the cause of my injuries in the first place." He folded his arms stubbornly across his chest, but the moment he put pressure on the burn he winced and quickly unfolded his arms, a gesture Kagome had to work hard to not laugh at. "Tell me something," She said as she reached for his bandaged arm and tugged the ends of the cloth to make sure it protected his wounds properly. She still could not believe that she had done such damage. It was almost scary to think of how much power it must have taken to hurt him so badly in his true form. "Why were you upset when I mentioned Kouga's marriage?"

Gendo turned his head up to the gold and purple sky and watched the impressive youki of the western lord with envy, "Wolves don't bow to the same power structure other demons do. We have our own clans and our own chiefs, and we might ally with a lord but we will _never_ kneel. Most Lords fear we will fragment and steal their lands, which is silly because we don't care for much beyond our own tribal concerns. But, wolves are just finding their footing in the lands; I am the first daiyoukai to rise from a wolf clan, perhaps out of necessity. The northern lord came to an agreement with his wolf clan. The eastern lord swore to wipe us from his lands, which is why I had to work so hard, beyond my limits, to achieve this strength. I did it all to protect and carve a space for my clan. But with me trapped here, and Kouga not the daiyoukai I hoped he would one day become, I fear it is only a matter of time before the eastern lord wipes us out."

"Won't your allies help?" Kagome asked innocently.

Gendo laughed bitterly, "As part of their agreement, the northern wolves swore not to involve themselves with the battles of the east. Now that Kouga has married into the northern clan, he has essentially given up his right to defend our lands. If he so much as tries to stop the eastern lord from taking our lands when it suits his, his wife will have to choose between him and her clan. He never did quite learn the finer points of politics. The West? Well, that lord made it clear that as long as we had nothing to offer, our survival was not his business."

Kagome bit her lip as she realised the weight Gendo carried. "Sesshomaru is not that bad, he can be convinced."

"Pft. He does what benefits him. If you are no use, you could be on fire in front of him and he would walk straight by you."

"That is unfair. He just likes to act as though he doesn't care." Kagome's noticed a strange defensiveness creeping into her voice. She remembered that moment when she was falling through the air and she had reached out her reiki for Sesshomaru. It was an inexplicable sensation, as though she suddenly understood the daiyoukai in ways that were too personal too have ever been intended. For a brief seconds, it was as though she _was_ him. "He's cynical and cautious, but also very fair."

"Well you are confident in how well you know him. Most people can't even read whether he is pleased or upset."

"I don't know how," Kagome shrugged, "but I just _know_ it."

Gendo tilted his head slightly. She was very strange, but he wondered if she would still so sincerely defend him if she knew that had stolen access to her very soul, was almost infuriating. "Tell me, did you ever feel like you saw into Lord Sesshomaru's very being?"

Kagome's eyes brightened with an innocence that was possible only because she did not know the true significance of the bond she now shared with the inudaiyoukai. "Yes. Right before we were separated it happened. I guess it must be some miko ability I just discovered because I can control my reiki so much better now, but I did. And he _is_ good, and more apprehensive than he would admit but-"

"Nevermind." Gendo said, cutting her off before she could spill all the inudaiyoukai's deepest held secrets. He wanted to tell her that she had and the Lord of the West had laid claim to each other. It was reversible, but it was still something that was so deeply personal and intimate that it shocked him to think it happened by accident. No, Sesshomaru must have planned it somehow. Gendo looked at Kagome who was eyeing his makeshift bandages and searching for a way to make it better.

He stood up and offered his good hand to her to help her up. "We still have a lot to work on." She took his hand and let him help her up.

"Once we get out I can get some herbs and treat it properly." Kagome said, still preoccupied with helping him. Her selflessness was almost astounding. He could not understand her. It was as though she did not know that as a miko she was supposed to hate him and rid the world of his kind. People like her simply did not walk around sparing demons and healing them.

"Ok, let's see how far you have gotten." He said. It had taken almost two days to teach her how to properly focus and condense her reiki. She had very little training and far too much reiki, so just managing her power was a feat in itself. He gently touched his wrapped arm. She had used the very power meant to destroy him, to heal him and the burning sensation had already dulled to a low heat spreading up his arm. He trembled to think what it would be like if she hated demons as much as she was supposed to.

Kagome closed her eyes in order to help herself focus. Drawing her reiki towards her, she focus on the tip of her fingers, she could feel it slowly condensing and taking shape.

"Ok," Gendo sounded exasperated. She did not blame him, after all this had to be her fiftieth try at something he seemed able to do fluidly. 'Just focus your reiki and fire' he said, as though it were that easy.

She let the arrow of condensed reiki fly and watched as it flew up into the sky, formed an arch and hit the ground, disappearing in a soft pink mist.

Gendo rubbed his temples in frustration, "You are the slowest learner I have ever met."

"You daiyoukai are all the same; you think just because it is easy for you, everyone should just get it." She huffed. She gathered her reiki again, and instead of just keeping it held tightly against her, she gathered it around her fingers tips, allowing it to somewhat solidify.

"Ok, so you got that part. Why can't shoot somewhat decently?"

She looked at the wolf demon, his stubborn features were set in an arrogant sneer. "Do you think that it is just not physically possible for me to shoot that high?" She asked, her words teetered on the edge of a sneer to match his. "Maybe my 'weak little human arms' cannot muster than much force."

"Let your reiki carry itself. Are you completely useless?" Gendo's harsh tone was all for show, the same way Kouga and Inuyasha liked to put on a show of toughness.

Kagome's eye twitched in annoyance, "You could just use your youki to carry my reiki up there, but instead you just insult me. Thank you."

He hit her on the head with the back of his hand, "Don't you know what reiki is? You will just purify it, idiot." For a moment she could swear it was Kouga speaking. Kouga sounded exactly the same way whenever he confronted Inuyasha; apparently this was where he had learned it from. The thought of Inuyasha weighed heavy in her heart, and as much as she wanted to find a way out and back to him, she was still far too scared to face him.

"That's not true," Kagome said, "My friend's a hanyou with demon's sword and I use my reiki to assist him in battle. We fire together, and make his attack more powerful."

Gendo looked at her. She associated with hanyou's as well? And fought with them?. "You allow youki to touch your reiki? You work _with_ demons?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, shouldn't I?" Her words were sincere, as though she genuinely did not know why he was asking the questions he was. "You should just try to help my reiki reach up there. If we fail, we fail."

"You are-"

"Yes, a miko, I know. But really, I don't _care._ Good people are good people, demon or not. Now are you going to try and help me?" She asked

"We can try." He said slowly, not quite convinced that her reiki would not purify his youki on contact.

She took a deep breath and gathered her reiki at her fingertips. Gendo watched, for a moment he was mesmerised by the sheer power she exuded. He pulled himself out of his trance and also began to gather his youki, enjoying the familiar feeling of having his power entirely under his control, and his alone. She shot her reiki arrow and his threw a spear of his solidified youki, it met her reiki and, as she had said, instead of purifying his aura, hers worked with his, the holy and demonic aura strengthening and magnifying each other. He looked at the grinning priestess, and then back at the light ripping through the sky. It was beautiful.

Sesshomaru stepped back and left the orb to float in the air. He could feel her reiki surging through the orb, working its way through the cracks he created and fighting in the tainted reiki. There was a brilliant flash of pink light and when it faded she was standing in front of him, as real as the relief that he felt from having her near him.

"It worked!" She exclaimed as she, in her excitement, threw her arms around him. He stood, unsure of how to react to the sudden show of affection. He wanted to return her affection, perhaps stroke her hair gently and tell her that he would have ripped the whole entrapment apart to get her back, but his pride and the wolf's suspicious eyes stopped him. So he just stood still until she pulled away.

"Sorry, I got a bit carried away." She said as she stepped back, her eyes fixed firmly on her feet as she silently prayed that the warmth she felt creeping up her cheeks did not actually translate to a visible blush.

Sesshomaru reluctantly dragged his eyes from her and focused on the daiyoukai she had dragged along with her. A burnt arm, dishevelled hair, and a tattered haori; he had been much more impressive when he had come seeking an alliance with the West.

"Lord Sesshomaru." Gendo bowed deeply. His manners were perfect, but Sesshomaru could read the disdain in his eyes.

"Wolf." He said coldly as he stepped towards the still bowed daiyoukai. The edge of an acknowledgement, his words were substantial enough to be a greeting but still sparse enough to insult. "The miko is my charge, lay a finger on her again and I will _personally_ see to it that you lose an arm. At the very least."

Gendo straightened himself, an act of subtle defiance, "I was under a spell. I helped her escape."

"Which is why you get a warning." Sesshomaru said, his voice hauntingly icy. He walked ahead without so much as a backwards glance.

"Where are you going?" Kagome asked, quickening her steps so she was walking beside him.

"You can follow me, or you can stand there. What you cannot do, is question me." His voice was carefully detached. As little respect as he had for the wolf, he was still a fellow daiyoukai and he could not afford to show weakness in front of another daiyoukai, least of all weakness to the demands of a human.

Kagome slowed her steps, and stared, at first in disbelief and then in indignation, at Sesshomaru. She stopped. "You must have me confused with another Kagome," her laugh was a thinly veiled threat, "because this Kagome and you played this whole game a long time ago, and you know better than anyone else that I can be just as thick-headed as you."

Sesshomaru stopped. He could feel his heart beating in his throat; it was the strangest feeling. He was almost excited to see just what version of a death glare she was giving him now. He looked over his shoulder. She was glaring at him through eyes as narrow as slits, her lips pressed together tightly. She was actually upset. All humour faded from his thoughts and in its place guilt slowly trickled in. He looked Gendo who was carefully watching him.

"The other way leads to a dead-end; you can tell from how our voices carry. This way, I am not sure what is ahead." When he spoke he kept his eyes fixed on Kagome, making it clear that his explanation was a courtesy to her alone. "Will you stop throwing a tantrum and walk?"

Kagome rolled her eyes and began to walk. He waited till she was beside him before he started moving again. Gendo followed silently, not quite believing what he was seeing. The Great Taiyoukai of the West, the Great Lord Sesshomaru, brought to heel by a human. Now _this_ was a story for the ages.

They walked in deafening silence. The air was thick was anticipation, and Kagome kept fidgeting with her bow and the sound of uneven nails against wood grated on the sense of both youkai, but it was Gendo whose patience wore out first. "Would you stop that?" He placed a hand on hers to stop the nervous movements of her fingers against the bow.

"Oh sorry." She said sheepishly, "I didn't realise it was bothering you." She fixed her eyes ahead and bit her bottom lip, as a way to calm her fraying nerves, "It's just… can't you feel it?"

He could. There was a massive amount of reiki pulsing in the distance, and with each step they took it seemed to grow closer, and angrier.

Sesshomaru watched from the corner of his eye. His more primal half was screaming for him to end Gendo. Kagome was _his_ ; they had formed a bond. Sesshomaru suffocated his rage. _He_ had formed a bond with her; in a moment of pure desperation he had done the only thing he could think of to retain some connection with her, and she must have been just as desperate because, without knowing it, she had opened her soul to his. He had no right to lay a claim over her, because she had never granted him such authority.

"Eh, whatever is there, I can take it on. No problem." Gendo, careful not to meet Sesshomaru's icy gaze, slipped his arm around her shoulder reassuringly. He could hear the low rumbling in the inudaiyoukai's chest, but he kept his arm firmly around Kagome's shoulders, an act of defiance that challenged Sesshomaru to do something.

He could feel the fear pacing in the back of her mind, but he could not do anything to stop it. He would have stretched out his youki to her, to reassure her, but the wolf was already by her side and she seemed content enough with that.

Suddenly Sesshomaru stopped. Gendo, unware, kept walking with Kagome, and two steps from where the inudaiyoukai had stooped her hit something hard but Kagome just kept walking and disappeared.

Sesshomaru snapped his head in Gendo's direction, "What have you done?" he growled through bared teeth. His inner beast was howling for blood, and this time he saw no reason to hold back.

"I don't – I didn't - " Gendo stuttered. Yes, he was a daiyoukai as well but Sesshomaru was a different kind of daiyoukai, a far more powerful kind, the kind one did not want to encounter in full rage.

"Oh my god." Kagome's voice froze both youkai. She was back, and staring at a spot ahead as though she had seen a ghost.

"Are you alright?" Sesshomaru asked, immediately forgetting the frightened wolf.

"I think I found the people who made this place." She said slowly. She stretched her hand forward and it seemed to just disappear. Gendo stretched his arm forward as well, but instead of air he hit something hard.

"We can't go any farther." He said as he felt along the large expanse of the barrier.

Sesshomaru's lips curled in irritation. "Of course we ca not go any farther. Are you an idiot or do you enjoy stating the obvious?"

Gendo's eye twitched in annoyance but he held his tongue. He was still reeling from the rage he had seen in the inudaiyoukai and was not quite ready for a second face off.

Kagome tightened her grip on her bow till her fingernails dug into the palm of her skin. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, steeling herself for the decision she was about to make. "I am going to go and talk to them."

"I can't follow you. We should find a way to break the barrier." Gendo said.

He was an idiot, Sesshomaru concluded. He could tell from the sheer power behind the barrier that there was no way either of them could break it.

Kagome shook her head, "I felt the spell holding up the barrier when I crossed, breaking it from the outside will be practically impossible." The moment she crossed she had felt a web of reiki so thick it awed her. From the inside, the spell was fairly weak, but the outside was a whole different story. "I am going." She said firmly.

"Kagome." Gendo held her hand in his. He could already hear the low rumbling of a growl trying to escape Sesshomaru's chest but he chose to ignore that for now. He liked her as a person, and was not ready to have her risk her life so recklessly. "Let me find a way to break the barrier; you saved me, and as payment I have to protect you." He cast a sidelong glance at the silver-haired daiyoukai, "from anyone."

"No, I have spent too much time already. I will stay near the barrier and if anything goes wrong I will come right back." She said as she pulled her hand from his grip, "Don't worry." Without waiting for a response she stepped forward, and once again she found herself staring at a low wooden house with three priestesses and two priests waiting for her at the entrance.


	12. Gambling

**Gambling**

"Miko," The priest said as she reappeared on the other side of the barrier, "I am sorry if I startled you."

Kagome walked towards them, "What is this place, and who are you?" She had never sounded so confident and demanding in her entire life.

One of the priestesses opened the door and motioned for her to enter but Kagome shook her head; she preferred to stay as close to the barrier as possible. "First answer my questions."

"We gave our lives and our powers to create this jewel, one that would trap demons and prevent them from causing further harm to humans. It slowly drains their youki, like a prolonged purification. We, who made the sacrifice, now live here as guardians. I was the first to create the jewel, and the powers of the others have helped strengthen it."

On some level she had known what the entrapment was, she just refused to accept it because it made no sense for her, a miko, to be trapped inside as well. "Then why trap me? I am not a demon." Kagome asked.

"So you can join us, help us make this our gift to the world stronger. All the trials you went through were simply tests to gauge your power. If you were to fail at any or be harmed in anyway, you would have been brought here immediately. But you exceled, beyond our wildest expectations. Miko, we need you; with power like yours, we could create a second jewel. One day, we will have enough jewels to rid the world of demons once and for all."

Kagome felt sick to her stomach. The priest was speaking about wiping out every last demon in such an optimistic and hopeful manner that she found herself wondering if he had a semblance of a heart underneath all those swaths of purple cloth. "So all those were just 'tests'? What was the point of having me suffer in your third 'tests'?" she asked, her words teetering on anger. She could remember clearly how her whole body shook from the pain of having her soul ripped out.

The priest took a step towards her, his eyes were soft and understanding but Kagome was too disgusted to care. "The first test with the little boy was to see your willingness to help the less fortunate. The second, with the village, was to show you how demons mercilessly ruin the lives of perfectly hardworking and good people. The third, and I apologise for what you went through, showed that the world outside is full of pain and hurt. Here is a paradise we have made for ourselves; we can live in peace and safety. If you stay, you will not be leaving much behind."

Kagome was furious, "So you tapped into my deepest fears, to break me so I will stay?"

"To show you that none are as pure as we are, as you are." He said, "The fourth was to show you that no matter how many times you cut them down, demons will always reappear and in more numbers, so the only way is to remove them entirely. If you leave even a few, they will bring nothing but pain. And the last one, the wolf daiyoukai, was to show just how dangerous demons can get. Some are too powerful and should never have existed to begin with."

"So those trials were just for me?" Kagome asked. She was fighting to keep her temper in check. She had never been so thoroughly disgusted and angry. The priest nodded. It finally made sense that to everyone else Sesshomaru did not exist; he was not part of this story. "And the barrier? Why put it there at all if you are going to let me pass through." She asked. She wanted to know and understand exactly the process of thought that had created this living hell, before she destroyed it.

The priest's eyes narrowed slightly, "You know of the barrier?" She was supposed to cross into this world seamlessly after defeating her last challenge, the wolf daiyoukai. There was no way she knew of the barrier. "How did you get here."

Kagome put on a show of confidence, "I broke out of one of your silly 'worlds' and then I just walked here."

"You are far more powerful than we realised." The priest took a step towards her, "We need you. Help us. It is your destiny as a miko to destroy all demons; it is a sacred promise you made. We can help you keep that promise for eternity."

Kagome knew that a miko promised to _protect_ people, not destroy demons. But she held back her objection. "If I could break out, why wouldn't some youkai be able to as well?" She was still pretending to be much more self-assured and confident than she truly was.

The priest smirked, his dark eyes watched her carefully, "Demons can't cross worlds. If they find a way to, they are dropped into the hallway you found yourself in, and their youki is drained even faster. The barrier stops any of them from reaching us. It also spreads throughout this world and holds it together."

Kagome felt her stomach drop. All she could think about was Sesshomaru and Gendo who were currently waiting on the other side for her. She did not know how long it would take it drain their youki, and she had no intention of finding out. "This has to stop." She said firmly as she erected a barrier between herself and the priests and priestesses. She aimed her bow at the space she had walked through and drawing on what Gendo had taught her, she gathered her reiki and let it solidify between her fingers. She fired and the moment her reiki hit the barrier bright pink cracks began to appear.

"What are you doing?" The priest screeched. He was powerless against her barrier, as all his reiki had been surrendered to maintaining his demon prison, to the point where he was a mere projection of his conciousness.

"You can't just wipe out an entire race!" Kagome spat as she fired again "And you can't convince me that my place is to join your sick plan. I am a miko, I help anyone who needs me. If anyone should be destroyed it is you." More cracks appeared; it was so weak from the inside. "You should be more careful whom you let in."

"If this jewel is destroyed, all demons within it will be purified. Only you will survive. Seeing as you will choose their kinds' safety over the safety of ours, are you willing to let them all die?" The priest yelled back. She could hear the disgust in his voice, but she refused to let it faze her. But his words did hit her like ice. Her hands began to shake with uncertainty. Was she willing to let _all_ the demons be purified?

…..

"My advice to you is that the moment we leave this place you stay far away from Kagome." Sesshomaru said, his voice dangerously calm.

Gendo gathered his courage. Now was his chance; Kagome was gone and there would be no one to absolve Sesshomaru of his guilt. "Why? So you can continue to burrow in her mind without her permission?" He asked. His sounded much more confident and composed than he actually was.

For a moment the inudaiyoukai's mask slipped and he let his confusion show.

"Did you think no one would notice? You bound your soul to hers; you can see every last bit of her, things she may not be aware of herself, and yet she had no idea. Very noble of you, I know you despise humans, but I would have thought that you would grant her the courtesy that even the lowest demon would grant his concubine. You think you just own her because you want to?" Gendo lifted one eyebrow and smirked. "I wonder what she would think about this little 'situation'."

Sesshomaru had never wanted to so calmly and methodically dismember someone before. "Tell her." He said. His words did not betray his fear of the repercussions.

"Pft, we both know you don't want that. Funny enough, you actually _care_ for the human. I wonder what she did to break the almighty Lord Sesshomaru himself. She'll hate you," Gendo's voice took on the edge of someone who knew they had won. Of a mouse that had cornered a lion, and had no intention of letting go. "Or she might not. She's painfully sweet, but she can also be very vengeful. Is that a risk you are willing to take?"

"I could kill you where you stand for your impudence."

"And what would Kagome think? Humans do make demons weak; 'heel' she says, and you do. It must be in your blood, or maybe this affinity for human women a curse of your line." Gendo paced a small perimeter, his lips turned up in a self-satisfied smile. "But I have no interest in telling her."

Sesshomaru's golden eyes narrowed dangerously, but Gendo was too absorbed in his taunting to notice the venom in the inudaiyoukai's eyes, he was too busy relishing in the idea that he could leave something worthwhile for his tribe afterall. Had he noticed, he might have swallowed his words.

"All you have to do is ally with the Eastern Wolves, pledge your support for my tribe and help us survive, and Kagome will never ever know." The wolf said. There was a tinge of sincerity and desperation in his voice that would have moved a more emotional being, but Sesshomaru was beyond the point of sympathy.

He flexed his claws and allowed venom to gather at their tip. "I have heard you wolf," Gendo looked carefully at the Lord of the West, and finally he realised his had made the biggest gamble and failed, "and now I am going to kill you."

"She won't forgive you." He said quickly, gathering his youki at his finger tips and allowing it to solidify into a spear.

"You insulted me with your pathetic attempt at blackmail. She will understand. Trust me, I know." Sesshomaru said as he lifted his hand, but before he could move forward to strike a flash of pink light and the crackling of reiki cut through the air. Both daiyoukai turned their eyes to the barrier and stared at the bright pink cracks appearing in the air.

….

"Are you really going to live with all this death on your hands?" The priest asked as Kagome fired another arrow of pure reiki at the barrier.

"They are already dead. If I don't do something, more demons will be hurt. As for you and your followers, you did this to yourself." Her words sounded colder and more distant than she ever thought she would be able to. It was hard, and her hands were shaking as she fired at the barrier, but she knew she had to keep going. This was a sacrifice she had to make for the future of all demons. Shippo, Kirara, Inuyasha, even that walking pain-in-the-ass Sesshomaru, were all examples of why demons were worth it.

The barrier cracked open and began to disintegrate. The moment she caught sight of the two daiyoukai on the other side, she ran towards them and grabbed their hands.

"What is happening?" Sesshomaru asked, beating the wolf to the question.

"This place is coming down." She said quickly. She closed her eyes and mustering all the strength she had left, she spread her reiki around both daiyoukai, encompassing their aura in hers. She could already feel the strain of trying to contain such massive youki.

"Why are you-" Sesshomaru's words died on his lips when he felt a wave of violent, purifying, reiki slam against her reiki and she gasped in pain as she struggled to hold against the purifying reiki. Everything around them was being purified, and the same violent reiki kept trying to break through the barrier of her aura; it could feel the youki behind and would stop at nothing to purify it all. He could see her struggling; he could hear her breathing turn ragged. She would kill herself trying to save him.

"Kagome, you don't have to do this." He said. He stared to pull his hand from hers so he could move away and allow her to save herself, but Kagome tightened her grip and looked with eyes the colour of a storm,

"You are not going anywhere." She said firmly. He could read her heart and soul in her words and he knew that he had no choice but to stay by her side. He laced his fingers through hers and nodded. Gendo was right, she was the only person who could give a command and he would, without hesitation, listen.

"Kagome, you will kill yourself trying to save us all." Gendo said. He too could see her. She was powerful, yes, but not powerful enough to contain the aura of two daiyoukai. The reiki outside her barrier was pure purification energy and it would keep beating at her until she broke, or until it wore itself out. It was evident that she would break first.

"I have to try." Kagome said stubbornly. Her voice was already growing weary and thin. Gendo and Sesshomaru looked at each other; one of them would have to let go. She was too tired to stop whoever chose to sacrifice himself. Gendo gritted his teeth; he was already a dead man. He had seen a bloodlust like no other in Sesshomaru's eyes and the moment this was over the inudaiyoukai would kill him. Perhaps if he made this sacrifice, he could use honour to save his tribe,

Gendo looked directly at Sesshomaru, hard golden orbs of ice stared back at him. "All I ask, all I have ever asked, is that you help my son and save my tribe. We could be such useful allies," Sesshomaru did not so much as flinch. Gendo fixed his eyes on Kagome and squeezed her hand softly, "Kagome, Kouga needs you and he doesn't even know it." Kagome slowly opened her eyes and looked at Gendo, she was so tired.

"But he has you." She breathed.

Gendo said nothing; he simply let go of her hand and stepped away from her protection, and she was too weak to resist.

A wave of dark purple reiki hit him and the pain that followed was blinding. The purification was so drawn out that he could feel his very being unravelling. He could feel his youki being pulled out of him along with his life-force and his soul. He could also feel her reiki reaching desperately for him, trying to save him.

"Gendo, what are you doing?" Kagome cried through the pain. Her voice was so weak that he could barely make out her words. "Stop it. I can save you too." She was draining out all her reiki in her attempt to reach for him and protect him from the violent purification energy swirling around them. She was killing herself and still thinking of him. He smiled through the pain. He squinted and tried to make her out through the violent undulating light. He could feel the sheer force rocking his body back and forth as it tore out his very essence. She was all he had left to send to Kouga, but that would be enough; She would do anything to fulfil his last wish, and Sesshomaru, and all his might, would follow her.

"You don't deserve her, dog." Gendo spat at the inudaiyoukai, glad he could finally voice just how much his disliked the western lord. Gendo pulled the fraying ends of his being together and poured it all into her; his youki, life-force, and bits of his soul. He had no idea what he was doing; he had never heard of someone being purified so slowly that they could control what happened to their life force and youki as it was pulled from them. But this prison's disintegration gave him just the right conditions to try to use his life-force to sustain her, and on a more selfish level, bind her _permanently_ to his tribe.

….

The purple light finally dissipated and Sesshomaru found himself staring at a moonless night sky. He could tell by scent alone that he had finally managed to escape that accursed prison. He found himself overcome by a fatigue so intense that he nearly fell to his knees, but Kagome going limp against him forced him to remain standing just so he could prop her up.

He could hear her breathing growing shallower with each breath. She had stretched herself far too thin and now she had nothing left to support her life. He felt the beginnings of panic creeping into his mind, but he pushed away such irrationality and forced himself to remain calm. He carefully lowered himself to the ground, bringing her down with him, and nestled her between his legs, her head resting against his chest. He placed his other hand on Tenseiga and listed to her waning breath, all the while forcing himself not to panic. She would live; his father had left him with a sword to save and heal, and it would make no sense for the sword to be useless on a life that meant so much to him.

She breathed out, and then stopped. His connection with her died with an abruptness that was so sharp he cringed. The pain that tore through his whole being was blinding, but he pushed through it and forced himself to focus. He wrapped his fingers around Tenseiga's hilt and waited for it to pulse.

The sword remained silent.

His eye twitched in annoyance, "You will listen to me." He said as he let go of the sword and grabbed it again.

Still no response.

For once, the stoic daiyoukai let panic set in. His let go of his controlled breathing and grabbed the sword again, his grip on Kagome's limp body tightened with each refusal of the sword to awaken. "She can't die." He said. His voice was hard and determined, as though he could control death if he spoke firmly enough. He was about to stand up and fly her to his mother, when it happened all at once.

She took a small, sharp breath and instantly his senses were overwhelmed by the smell of wolf. Sesshomaru watched with wide, disbelieving eyes as a burgundy stripe appeared on each of her cheeks, "What have you done?" He asked, not quite sure if he was speaking to Kagome or to the ghost of Gendo. If he could, he would have crossed into the other world just to kill Gendo again. He ran a clawed finger along her marks, noting how the smell of wolf grew stronger as he breathing steadied. He felt an odd combination of rage and relief, but there was a sudden emptiness in his chest he could not shake off.

He stood up, still carefully cradling her against his chest. Forcing himself to push past his fatigue, Sesshomaru gathered a cloud beneath his feet and rose into the air. He had so many questions, but he would not get anywhere until she woke up.

He flew through the night sky until he reached his own western lands. He landed in front of a well-hidden cave, his preferred spot to rest whenever he patrolled his lands. Still cradling her as though she were porcelain that could shatter, he carried her into the cave. He was far too tired to even think of setting a fire, so he simply sat on the ground and leaned against a wall. He looked down at her, her dark hair contrasted sharply with the white of his haori. "Why do you always end up in such situations?" He said softly as he brushed her hair away from her face. He wrapped his arms around her, partly to keep her warm and partly to just feel her there, because when she was close the emptiness felt smaller. Only then did he let himself drift into sleep to the soothing sound of her steady breathing.

* * *

 **A/N:** _Thank you all for reading this, and thanks for your wonderful reviews; they keep me going. The first part is almost over - just one more chapter, but there so much more after that._


	13. Us

**'Us'**

Everything was so loud. She curled deeper into the soft furs and attempted to cover her ears with her hands, but that did little to help. In fact, it only made matters worse; her face was now half-buried in the mokomoko and she could smell it; it was a captivating earthy smell that tingled with raw power. It was pleasant, but it will still too much for her. Defeated, she forced herself to sit up. "I would advise you do not strain yourself too much." She looked in the direction of the voice and found Sesshomaru standing at the entrance, holding two large fish. At the sight of food her stomach tightened, alerting her to the fact that it was painfully empty.

"What happened?" She asked, her voice was lower than usual to adjust for how loud everything sounded.

"You fainted. You seem to be in the habit of doing that." He said in his usual detached tone.

"Oh that's just a hobby of mine." She said sarcastically, "Would it kill you to say 'thank you Kagome, for saving my _entire_ race'?"

He let out a short breath that might have been a laugh, but Kagome could not be quite sure. "I take it that's a yes." She huffed, "Well _I_ am proud of myself."

"I never said you shouldn't be." He said walked over to the fire he had started and began to prepare to cook the fish,

"Oh, I can do that." She stood up and rushed over to his side. He looked at the fading marks on her cheeks; they had been steadily fading over the past few days, and she had started smelling less of wolf and more of miko.

"Don't strain yourself. You have been asleep for the past two days." He said firmly. He might not have been willing to articulate a 'thank you', but the least he could do was show it. She had risked a lot for him, and Sesshomaru was never one to be ungrateful. But he did enjoy her small rants and fits of indignation, so he let his gratitude linger unspoken.

Kagome folded her arms across her chest stubbornly, "But I feel fine, and I need some way to show I'm grateful to you for taking care of me. See, I know manners."

"I do not require it." He said flatly, and then just to toy with her, he let his voice ease and grow almost soft, "But _thank you_ for your consideration."

She looked at the smirk playing at the edge of his lips, something in them made her heart double-time. "You are impossible." She huffed, more embarrassed than irritated. After those words she grew oddly silent. At first it did not bother him, but the longer she stared at her hands folded in her lap, the more uncomfortable he grew. He longed to be able to simply reach across and into her mind, and find out if she was truly bothered or just tired. But then again, he could just ask. Sesshomaru scoffed at his own suggestion, and then realised it was his only option. "Is everything alright?" he gave in.

She nodded. Her lack of words was the surest sign that things were not, in fact, alright. Has she been anyone else he would have left it at that, but had she been anyone else he probably would not have asked in the first place. "I know you well enough to know when you are lying."

She finally lifted her eyes from her hands and looked at the daiyoukai. She was doing it again, that crying thing that unsettled him so deeply. Last time there was a visible pain he could address, a way to make it better, this time she was just sitting there and crying, and it was awful. He had no idea what to do. There were very specific ways to handle different kinds of demonesses. There was a way to deal with the weaker kind, the subservient one who let you see her cry and required you tend to her needs, and there was a way to deal the wilful one who demand equal footing, she was steel and required you prove you could handle her fire before she would even view you as a person of consequence. Kagome was most definitely the latter kind, so why was she letting him see her cry?

"Gendo didn't make it." She said softly, "I let him die."

She was crying for that honourless excuse for a youkai? He bristled at the very thought that the wolf would gain any kind of sympathy. But then he looked at the fading burgundy striped on her cheeks, and he himself had to acknowledge the wolf's sacrifice. "He died to help you live." Sesshomaru said almost curtly. And then he tried to change the subject, "Your senses are bothering you, I can tell form the way you cringe at every sound. Don't worry, you will get used to it."

"What does that have to do with anything?" She asked, wiping the tears with the back of her hand and hoping fresh ones would not replace them. How would she face Kouga and tell him that she let his father die?

Sesshomaru saw the chance to be a little closer to her, if only for a second, and he took it. "Here and here," he traced the fading striped on her cheeks. The moment he touched her, the emptiness in his chest subsided and for a brief moment he felt more than whole. "You have the markings of Gendo. I don't know how, but the wolf managed to pass on his youki to you and that is what kept you alive whilst your reiki was restoring itself."

Kagome froze. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and her brain was stuck on the way his finger felt against her cheek.

He let his hand fall from her face, and the emptiness that followed felt was chilling. "I am a wolf demon?" She asked in disbelief. She ran her fingers across her cheeks as though she would somehow feeling the markings herself.

"I don't know. But they are fading as your reiki replenishes. It's just to show you that his death was not for nothing." Sesshomaru said. Kagome wrapped the mokomoko tighter around her.

"I am a magnet for this kind of trouble, aren't I?" She said, her voice was soft with a sadness she was too tired to carry, "What do I do now?"

She had no idea just how much trouble she had to face now that she was, of all things, a wolf. The gods help her… and him. He placed his hand on hers with a tenderness he himself did not know he possessed, and said "You should eat."

She gathered up his mokomoko and handed it to him, "Okay," she nodded. Her mind was so busy trying to simultaneously make sense of all the information her hyper-aware sense were drowning her in, and of the implications of having youki running through her, that all she could do was nod and say 'Okay'. As soon as she let go of the furs she felt as though a hole had been punched through her chest. She gasped and grabbed the fabric of her shirt over her chest.

For the first time in his life, Sesshomaru felt fear. He would have to tell her after all, and any way she reacted would be completely valid. "You should keep this, at least for now." He handed the fur back to her and just like that her heart felt whole.

"What is wrong with me?" She looked at him for answers, and what she saw she refused to believe. The daiyoukai would not meet her eyes. _Sesshomaru_ , could not meet her eyes.

"It was a mistake." His voice resolute, as though he were trying to convince himself, "I ask that you forgive me, and in time the pain will subside."

"Why am I in pain in this first place? Why does it hurt to let go of your mokomoko?" She was confused, not angry. He searched her voice and her eyes for anger, but there was none. At least not yet.

"To let go of me. My mokomoko is an extension of myself and long as you are in contact with it, or me it won't hurt." He turned away from her and took the fish off the fire; it was easier when he was not looking at her. "Right before we were separated, we tried to reach out and hold onto each other but I believe we both lost control and went much farther than either one intended. Youkai can bind their souls to each other. It usually done between close family, and between intended mates. It makes it so that two souls are never truly apart no matter the distance, it also allows me to feel what is in your heart and soul. It takes a lot of trust and a lot of will; it is never that easy. It's not meant to be able to happen 'by accident'; it had to be that place interfering with our auras. I apologize."

Kagome took the food he offered but she could only stare at it. "So you saw _everything_ about me?"

"A saw a brief moment when we were bound, but I refused to look further. It did not seem right to." He was telling the truth. As tempting as it was to see exactly what she was, he had shown restraint.

"So why does it hurt now?" She rubbed the spot on her chest that had hurt when she let go of the mokomoko.

"Because the bond broke when you became a little bit of a wolf; you changed significantly, and it hurts for a while when a bond is broken. But with time the pain will go away soon enough." He said.

Kagome looked at his unguarded eyes. She felt as though she was looking at something no one was ever meant to see. This was Sesshomaru letting it all show for her. Why? "If I can overcome breaking a bond with my father, you can overcome this."

She still had her hand over her chest. She remembered how comforting constantly having him near her was. Perhaps she should have felt intruded upon, used in a sense. But she could not because, without knowing it, she had come to crave his company. After all that time she had spent travelling with the ice block of a daiyoukai, she could not bear the thought of just having him disappear. "Does it hurt you as well?"

And just like that the steel came down behind his golden eyes and that brief 'heart to heart' was over. "I will be fine. You should eat." He said firmly. He cursed himself silently; he had shown her weakness. He did not know much about humans, but judging from what he knew about demonesses; such weakness would never be forgotten in a courtship. He had told himself he would accord her all the respect she deserved, that wolf or not – human or not, he would do it properly. So far he was failing.

She moved closer to him until her shoulder was pressed against his. He felt that exhilarating 'more than wholeness' wash over him. "What are you doing?" He looked at Kagome who had finally began eating, even if she was slowly picking at her food.

"There really is no need for you to suffer in silence when I am right here." She shrugged.

"I was not suffering."

"Oh I apologize for daring to insinuate the Great Lord Sesshomaru could feel anything but pride." She teased. Still no anger in her words, no indignation. As though nothing had happened.

"Miko," He had meant it to sound like a warning but his voice softened of its own accord, making him sound tender. He sighed; he was losing again, showing weakness.

She looked up at him and smiled, "Thank you for taking care of me. Not just now, but throughout."

She was so confusing. Why was she rewarding his moments of weakness? It was as though she softened when he did, and hardened when he did. Were all humans so unreadable? Well, if rules did not work, then to hell with the rules. Perhaps he would just ask her permission to court her, but demons never _asked_ it was something that one showed in action, so how was he supposed to ask? With words, obviously. He opened his mouth to speak, but for some reason, a different set of words escaped, "I think we should set off to see Rin tomorrow, you could also find out about your friends."

Kagome kept eating until he nudged her slightly, she then looked up at him, confused, "What do you think?" He asked.

"Are you asking for my input?" she asked, not quite believing what was happening, "I normally have to drag information out of you, and you are asking me for my opinion? Are you serious?"

She was not gloating in his submission; she was not trying to push it further. There interactions were not a power play, and if he had any doubt before, not he was certain that there were no rules for her. "You are not my charge, we are equal. So you do get a say in what we do."

"I think we should. She misses you a lot." Kagome was absolutely certain that he could hear her heart beating, given how loud it sounded in her own ears. She knew she had fallen a while ago, like every woman who crossed his path, she had succumbed to his mystique and his perfect looks, but she had never been able to look past his arrogance. He was unbelievably arrogant; she needed someone who could respect her, and now here he was giving her the kind of respect and that even Inuyasha had never thought to. She did not stand a breath of a chance.

Sesshomaru nodded, but he did not look away and that unnerved her. Sometimes his eyes could be a little bit too gold, his gaze a bit too intense, and now was one of those times. She began to feel tiny under his unrelenting stare. "What? Was I supposed to disagree with you?" She asked uncomfortably, "Because I won't. Believe it or not, I actually agree with you. I guess miracles do happen."

He gathered himself. It was so pathetic that one human female could drive him to such uncertainty. There was nothing he feared, courting her was not terrifying; he had just brought and cooked her a meal. But she did not understand the meaning behind his actions, so he was forced to articulate them. Somehow, forming those words required he shut down his senses and take a leap, "This Sesshomaru asks your permission to court you."

Kagome choked on the piece of fish she had just been eating. "What?" She cleared her throat. Her heart was ecstatic, but her mind was telling her that she had definitely misheard; half the time she was not even sure if he liked her as a person, and the other half of the time she was pretty certain he wondered why she had to exist in the first place.

"I think you are suitable, and although you come with your fair share of trouble I believe you might be worth it." His words were even and detached, almost mechanical. Kagome had been around him long enough to know his coping mechanisms when she saw them.

'Suitable' she 'might' be worth it. His choice of words was not the best, but he was so out of his element that she looked past them. He was still looking at her, still waiting for an answer. She suddenly became aware of just how close they were, and where her arm touched his. Inuyasha's name crept into her mind like some thief ready to snatch away her happiness. She forced it down. She could not live for him; he'd had Kikyo and she had accepted it. This was her turn at happiness, and as silly as it sounded even her petty fights with the stoic daiyoukai made her happy. "I think you might be suitable as well." She said slyly, keeping her eyes fixed on her meal.

Sesshomaru let out a short laugh. It was so uncharacteristic that she was forced to look at him to make sure that he was indeed the same stoic demon she knew. "That was a poor choice of words on my part." He conceded to his mistake; he was showing more weakness.

Inuyasha's name crawled into her mind again, she tried to push it down but it just stayed, taunting her. She leaned against Sesshomaru, taking comfort in the warmth he provided, it was a courtship not a betrothal. She tried again to push away the guilt Inuyasha's name brought, but to no avail. So she let it float in the back of her mind, refusing to give into the dark feeling.

"So what does one do in a courtship?" Kagome asked.

"Unclear," She had never heard him sound so relaxed, not since they had be trapped in that third world with the hot-springs, "I am not familiar with human courting customs, and you are not familiar with demons one. I guess it will be up to us to figure out." ' _Us'_ the word lingered on his tongue; it would take some getting used to.

* * *

 ** _A/N:_** _Well, that is it for the first part. I hope you have enjoyed the story thus far. I am so excited for the next part; I get to write cute scene and Kagome is dragged into the world of youkai courts, and I promise we will find out just what exactly Kagome is now._


	14. Truthisms

**Truthisms**

Guilt was a curse like no other. It has stayed with her all night. No matter how many times she had tried to ignore it, Inuyasha's name had stayed on her mind, and weighed on her soul till she was barely aware of her surroundings. And just when she thought it could not get any worse, she began to imagine all those youkai she had let die; she had not even tried to save them, she knew it was impossible to have done anything else but _still_.

"What is the matter?" Sesshomaru looked at the miko who was still clutching his arm, her eyes fixed at some distant point on the horizon, but not quite seeing what was ahead of her. "Kagome," He shook her gently. She floated back into the present, the glazed look never quite leaving her eyes. "Are you alright?"

She blinked, and she was fully present again. "Yes, yes. Sorry." She finally took notice of the solid ground beneath them and the cluster of huts merely metres away. "Oh, we are here already." He could hear her heart beat quicken, and smell the sharp tang of her fear.

"What bothers you?"

She opened her mouth to lie to him, but each time she looked at the village she grew so nervous that somehow the truth found its way to the surface and leapt off her tongue of its own volition. "Is Inuyasha in the village?" Her heart was beating even faster. The anticipation was suffocating.

"No, why would that bother you?" He asked, his eyes searching hers for some hint of a reason, in case she chose to shut off from him again.

"I- it," She lowered her eyes to the grass. Apparently it was her turn to spill her secret, "Inuyasha asked me to be his mate. For me it was months ago, but for him it has only been a few weeks." Her voice was low, and her words reluctant to come forth.

Sesshomaru felt a white-hot rage course through his veins. How dare the worthless half-breed? What, in his tiny un-balanced mind, could drive him to think he was ever worthy of someone of Kagome's stature. He reigned in his anger and forced his more primal half to settle. This was not unexpected, the miko and the hanyou had had some form of a winded courtship for many years, but that did not make the news any less pleasant to hear. "You denied him; otherwise you would not have accepted my proposal of courtship. I do not see your problem."

Kagome could not believe how wilfully dense Sesshomaru was being. It had to be wilful because he was far too intelligent to be so blind, "I am choosing you, over him. That hurts enough. But to make matters worse, he hates you and I know that."

"Your point is still lost on me." He said flatly. It just _had_ to be wilful.

Kagome let go of his arm and rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration, "I know you hate him, but you must see how much this will hurt him. He's one of my best friends and when he finds out, it is not going to be pretty on my side or his. I am just giving you forewarning."

"forewarning?"

"What else could I do?" her shoulders sagged and the familiar weight of guilt settled heavily on her. It was ridiculous that she would felt any guilt at all, but she knew what it felt like to have the person you care about chose someone else and she would not wish it on her worst enemy.

"You could tell him in your own time." It smarted to speak those words; she had to _hide_ their courtship as though it were something she was ashamed of. It stung his pride in new ways, but the lifting of her shoulders and the brightness in her eyes made it worth it. There was no way he would leave this courtship period without battle-scars on his pride, and strangely enough he did not want it any other way. He brought his hand to her cheek and relished the warmth that spread through his body. "He is your friend, this is your territory. I will leave you to deal with it as you see fit."

"You don't mind?" She asked, she was not quite burden free, but finally she was smiling again.

"No, take the time you need." His words eased her discomfort slightly, but he could still see the worry behind her smile, "What else is bothering you?"

"How many youkai did I let down? How did I manage to save only one?"

He placed his hand on her shoulder, "Miko, there was nothing else you could do. Your choice was between those youkai already captured, and all the youkai who exist now and will ever exist."

"I could have _tried_." She pressed on , she was shaking slightly so her squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. A tiny gesture on his part, but it was all she needed,

"You almost died trying to save one. What else could you have done?"

"I just need to keep reminding myself of that I guess." She placed her hand on his in thanks, her fingers grew warm as her reiki escaped through them and snaked under his skin. Her powers tingled the edges of his youki before blending slowly into it for a moment. She did not realise it but she was granting him momentary access into her heart; he could feel she was still worried but it was subsiding.

"I can see into your heart." He finally brought himself to confess,

"What?" and with that distraction the connection snapped shut and once again he was shut out from her.

It was strange walking her through the tiny things she did and their implications. Courtship was supposed to be natural and instinctual. On some levels theirs was, but on others it was painfully deliberate. "What you just did, blending your aura with mine, it lets me see into your heart. You could have looked into mine as well to see if keeping our courtship silent truly did not bother me. You'd normally grant such access if you were exceptionally pleased with something I did, or I with you."

Crap. She could have looked, could have seen if the secret was hurting him and he was just putting on his usual impassive façade. "I don't know how I did it."

"When you want to do it again, you will. But then you'll know what you are doing." He said. He turned his eyes to the cluster of huts; he could smell Rin's soft floral scent from this distance. There had been a point in his life when that smell was an indelible part of his life. "We should go; there are those who have been waiting far too long for our return."

…..

She stopped mid-stride and snapped his head westward. He tilted his nose to the sky and breathed deeply. The soft smell of rosewater laced with a strange citrus wafted through the air. Last time he had smelt it, it had been hidden under layers of artificially applied vanilla, but he could still tell that scent anywhere. She was back. He ran as fast as he could to the hut Rin had been occupying and threw open the doors. The girl was busy grinding herbs in a small mortar and shielded her eyes from the sudden assault of sunlight. "Kagome is back," he said, and without waiting for her response he turned and ran.

He had never felt such relief and happiness, as though a damn had broken in his heart and all this pent up emotion was spilling forth. He was crying and he did not even know it. He reached the edge of the village and spotted her walking down the hill, his elation suddenly snuffed when he saw the daiyoukai walking with her. Fear snaked up his limbs and locked him where he stood. He wanted to run to her, he wanted to be happy for Rin, but at the same time his instincts told him to freeze. So he did. But she had already caught sight of him and now she was running towards him, and that gave him the strength to command his legs to move.

Kagome picked him up and hugged him so tightly, she had not realised just how much she had missed him. "I was so worried you were not coming back." Shippo cried as he clung to her shirt, "You just disappeared and I thought …I thought… "

"What could keep me away from you forever? Not even time." She said softly as she stroked the crying kit.

Sesshomaru looked at the display of affection for the strange child. The kit was not hers, and it was not his, and yet she was so devoted to it. This would not do at all. His thoughts were broken by his name softly carried on the wind. It was Rin and whilst she had ran to the edge of the village to see if Kagome truly was back, upon seeing her daiyoukai guardian she burst into tears that wracked her body so much that she could not move any further.

He walked over to his ward and knelt down beside her, a rare display from the usually formal daiyoukai. The moment he was level with her, she pushed back enough tears to ask, "Can I hug you?"

"Yes." He said.

That was all she needed. She threw her arms around him and cried into the silk of his haori. "Rin though you were never coming back. They said you were dead."

"And you believed them?" He asked, taken aback by her lack of faith, "I would have expected better from you."

"No. Yes. Rin is sorry. Lord Sesshomaru was gone for so long." She has spilling more salt stains into his haori. But for once it was justified,

"There is no need for tears; it is a waste of energy." He said firmly.

Rin snapped to attention and just like that her crying ceased. She wiped her eyes with the back of her eyes and beamed at her guardian, "Because Sesshomaru-sama is back."

He stood up and simply nodded. He looked behind him at Kagome who was still petting that kit, and then he looked down at Rin and patted her head gently. "Yes." He replied.

Kagome finally managed to get Shippo to stop clinging so tightly too her by promising she would not disappear. She looked behind her, in the direction of the well, and wondered if it would let her pass freely again. She shook her head, no she would go with Inuyasha so at least she could be guaranteed a way back to the feudal era; she had much more waiting for her here.

"Next I need to go see my friend Sango, the demon-slayer. Apparently she and her husband have been searching for me." She said as she made her way further down the hill, and towards Sesshomaru.

"Lady Kagome." She stopped at the formality of the address and looked at Rin who was playing with the sleeves of her yukata. She looked so much better than she kagome had last seen her, "Thank you for bringing Lord Sesshomaru back."

Kagome smiled and knelt in front of the little girl who was not so little anymore. "I told you he was fine, didn't I? He was just very very busy." Kagome placed a finger under the girl's chin and lifted it so she was no longer looking at the ground, "And now it's all ok." She smiled.

Rin smiled back, her eyes filling with tears again, "Thank you."

Kagome pulled her into her arms and hugged her tightly, "Me? You were so brave and independent."

Sesshomaru watched his ward cry again. Apparently there were more tears to be shed. _'Humans and their unbreakable affinity for crying. It must be the official pastime of their race'_ he thought, somewhat condescendingly. But then, seeing the relief it seemed to bring his young ward, he was reminded of why he had to leave her to be raised by other humans; he did not have the emotional capacity to give her everything she needed.

When Rin had finally pulled herself together Kagome let go of her, "We should probably go see Grandma Kaede." Rin looked up at Sesshomaru for his approval before she nodded to Kagome. "Actually, why don't you and Shippo run ahead and let her know I am back; I will join you soon."

Shippo frowned at the daiyoukai who watched him with disregard. "Are you sure? I could just wait." He said slowly; even though he knew she arrived with the daiyoukai, he did not like the thought of leaving her alone with him.

"Kit." Sesshomaru's stern voice was enough to make the fox tremble, "Do as you are told." Shippo shrank under the cold amber stare. He nodded mutely before taking Rin's hand and walking off.

Kagome watched the two children running off and she sighed audibly. "Are you displeased?" Sesshomaru asked, half teasing.

"You should not be so stern with him; he is a child." She said, her eyes travelling from the children to the daiyoukai.

"You should not be so soft with him; he is a youkai." Sesshomaru replied, stepping towards her. He leaned forward so close that Kagome felt her knees begin to tremble. He inhaled deeply, taking in the complex tones of her natural scent, this was the first time he was letting himself indulge in her so. Her scent teased his senses with their intricacy, rose water, some strange citrus, and something entirely foreign. He cupped one side of her face in his hand and brushed his cheek against hers, covering the scent marks of the kit with his. Insolent child, trying to claim what was his. "Tell me," he murmured into her ear, he was enjoying being so close to her and was in no rush to pull away, "Why did you have them go ahead?"

"I- um-" Kagome swallowed; it was hard to focus when she could feel his breath on her neck and ear. She took a deep breath and willed her feet to step backwards, putting a more decent distance between them, "there is something I need to tell you."

He lifted one eyebrow questioningly. "I am not from here." She began, and then paused. He was still looking at her; obviously he already deduced that she was far too strange to be from anywhere nearby. Kagome, bit her lip as she tried to find a way to explain her time travel without him thinking she was absolutely crazy. She had to tell him; there was no way she could keep such a secret, not that she felt the need to keep it from him anymore.

Sesshomaru was so focused on the lip drawn between her teeth that he almost missed when she began to speak again, "I am from here, technically, but five hundred years later." At her words his eyes snapped from her lips to her eyes and his held her gaze,

"How?" he asked slowly. She was not like anyone he had ever met; her clothing, her manner of speaking, even the item she used to gift Rin were so foreign. But the future?

"The well allows me to cross between my time and this one. At least it did while we were fighting Naraku." She looked and sounded sincere enough but it was all too surreal.

"From the beginning. Tell me everything." He asked. So she obliged, and she told him everything down to her meeting with Hiromasa and reopening the well, and why she was hesitant to try and go back.

Sesshomaru examined her carefully and then decided her would accept her words as truth. But one thing struck him and refused to let go, "This Hiromasa of the North, describe him."

"Tall, brown hair, green-eyes, a bit moody but given the circumstances it made sense. He even gave me his seal, but it was in my bag and I lost that." She looked at the daiyoukai's furrowed brows, "do you know him?"

"I know a Hiromasa that matches that description, but he is not the Lord of the North and I do not image he could ever be. There are many men with brown hair and green-eyes. Either way, it is of no consequence now." He looked at Kagome, who saw fidgeting with her fingers,

"So you don't think I am crazy?"

"Unfortunately not. I am not sure what it says about you that your tale makes sense." He offered her his hand which she took happily.

"Well, take a good look. _This_ is the person you chose." She said, her leaned into him and rested her head against his arm, enjoying the warmth that radiated from his simmering youki. "No take backs."

He nudged his mokomoko from his shoulder onto hers, and it curled around her, erasing the last traces of fox. "Hardly" He murmured. Soon he would have to let go off her, and present a completely platonic display, but until then he could bask in the warm glow of her pulsing reiki.

* * *

 ** _A/N:_** _Welcome to the second part of this story; it is mainly about their romance (finally they can be cute together) and the little surprise Gendo left for Kagome._


	15. Reunions

**Reunions**

Kagome bowed to Kaede before exiting the hut. The Sun was still high in the sky, and she took a moment to appreciate her freedom. After all this time, she was finally going to be reunited with Sango and Miroku. It felt almost surreal.

"Lord Sesshomaru, can Rin come with you?" A soft voice asked from behind them as they readied to leave. Kagome turned to look at the girl who was fidgeting with the sleeves of her yukata again, "I promise I will be quite."

"You will stay here." The daiyoukai said without sparing so much as a backwards glance. He could not encourage her attachment to him; she was human and needed to socialise with her kind.

Kagome looked at the fox kit standing beside her who was staring forlornly at his friend.

"I promise I – "

"Rin." Sesshomaru said, he did not even have to sound stern for the girl to fall quite.

Kagome touched his arm gently, "Wait, why can't she come with us? She used to travel with you all the time, what happened?"

He looked down at the miko and knew she would not relent without a full explanation. "Rin needs to be with her kind." He simply did not have the nurturing instinct she needed and the few years she had spent with him had already transferred some of the ice in him to her, to the point where despite her generous smiles and hugs, one could tell there was a part of the child that was far older than her years. "I am a daiyoukai with many duties that make me less suited to raise a human female. It is for the best."

Kagome looked at the girl, she had only just gotten to see her daiyoukai and now he was flying off without her. But that same daiyoukai had not truly wanted to leave her behind either, he did it because, at that time, it was best for her. After seeing him with Shippo she knew he was right about the 'less suited' part. "But I'll be here, so she won't really be without another human. Let her come." Kagome pleaded, "She missed you a lot."

Shippo watched his adoptive mother plead with the most terrifying youkai he had ever met. She was definitely the bravest person he knew. "Rin, you may come along, but only for this trip." Sesshomaru caved. Kagome was right, as long as she was with him there was no reason Rin had to stay behind in the village; she could be the warmth he could not provide.

Rin quite literally jumped for joy, "I promise I will be the most quite you have ever seen me." She said as she rushed to their side. She threw her arms around Kagome and smiled, "I promise I won't say a word."

Kagome could feel the air swirling around their feet as the clouds gathered beneath them. "Don't be silly," She said to Rin, but her eyes were focused on Sesshomaru who was forcing himself to look ahead and remained carefully blank, "you have to tell me everything that happened since we last met." She saw the daiyoukai flinch ever so slightly and she smirked, "I bet Lord Sesshomaru really would like to hear what you have been up to."

He cast his golden eyes towards his miko, "Why does silence offend humans so?" but his words were not entirely sincere because he too wanted to know what his ward's life was like; distance or not she was still his charge.

He felt her reiki reach out for him and sneak under his skin, spreading a pleasant warmth throughout his body. It confused him because he had not done anything for her, but she was still pleased with him.

…..

Kagome tightened her grip on Sesshomaru's arm as the cloud began to dip into its descent. Flying was not her problem; it was the take off and the landing that made her cling to the nearest thing. Before they touched the ground a familiar yellow cat bolted out of a nearby but and transformed into a larger version of itself. "Calm down, Kirara, it's just me." Kagome said as she broke away from the daiyoukai and walked towards the firecat. The cat allowed her to pet it gently, but it never took its eyes off Sesshomaru. It snarled, warning him to stay away. The daiyoukai barely acknowledged it, as though if he wanted to harm something an overgrown kitten would count amongst his concerns.

Sango stepped out of the house and froze at the sight; which was not sure what shocked her more, the sudden appearance of a friend she had been searching for for weeks, or the silver-haired youkai standing behind her. Before she could make a decision about which was more shocking, she was assaulted by an overly enthusiastic hug from Kagome. "Do you know how much trouble I went through just to see you? I was beginning to think the world didn't want us to meet again." Sango closed her eyes and returned the hug. She knew she had been worried, but she did not realise just how worried she had been until she saw Kagome safe and sound.

"Where were you?" She asked, pulling away from her friend and running her eyes over her to make sure that indeed she was fine.

Sesshomaru watched the reunion with guarded interest; he had never seen Kagome so happy. She was practically glowing and giddy with excitement. She was trying to tell the demon huntress what had happened, but she kept running ahead of her words and stumbling on her excitement. He could feel his lips trying to turn up into a smile; he did not even know one could 'catch' another person's happiness. It was deeply unsettling. "Miko," His words were deliberately cold and from the way her shoulders tensed he knew she could hear the difference in his tone, "Take care of this Sesshomaru's ward, I will be back by nightfall." He turned and walked away without waiting for so much as a nod of agreement.

Kagome stared at the mass of silver hair swaying as he walked off. It was like she was back to day one with him, when his words felt like ice against her spine. "Come all of you, come inside," Sango said as she dragged her friend away.

Kagome almost squealed with excitement when she saw the three little children napping in the corner of the room. Rin ran over to them, cooing over how tiny they were. "Wow Sango, I guess it's one thing to know you have a family now, and another to actually see them in person." Kagome said as she watched them sleep,

"Yeah, but compared to raising them, slaying demons is easy. They don't sleep at the right time, and when one gets sick the other all decide to follow suit. But lucky for me, Miroku is really good with them." Sango smiled as she pulled out her tea set and began brewing some for her guests, "He is out looking for you too, but Kirara went to find him. He and Inuyasha have been combing the whole of Japan for you."

Kagome shifted her attention from the children to the demon slayer, it was strange to see Sango being so domestic. "I'm sorry I made you guys worry."

"What? It's not your fault; Inuyasha should never have left you alone in the first place." Before Kagome could defend her hanyou friend, Sango corrected herself, "I know he would not have left if he did not have a good reason to, but I just cannot imagine what it was. This is the guy who has been searching tirelessly for you, you should see how much he beat himself up after you disappeared ; I had to threaten him before he took time to rest."

Kagome felt as though her heart had slowed. She looked down at the ground and forced herself to put things into perspective; she did not owe anyone her love. Gratitude, yes. Love? Certainly not.

"And you know after the well closed he sat by that well for almost a month. He jumped in and out so many times I am sure it's a little bit deeper now." Sango continued, her eyes were still focused on the brewing tea that she did not notice the tears shining in Kagome's eyes. "I always used to think he was playing you, I always though he never knew what he wanted and was just taking you for granted. But now I cannot doubt how much he loves you. It's rather sweet." She pour the tea into a cup and lifted it to Kagome. There were tears slowly rolling down the miko's cheeks and she had balled her hands into fists so tight her knuckles were growing white. "Kagome? Are you ok?" She dropped the cup and scooted around the table so she could put an arm around her,

"I miss him so much," Kagome bit her bottom lip, she didn't even bother to wipe the tears as the dripped onto her hands, "And I care about him so much, but I don't love him anymore and it hurts him. I don't want to hurt him."

"Oh wow," Sango breathed, it had never occurred to her that her friend's heart would change, although it made sense. It's had been years, of course her feelings for the hanyou could change.

"Sango," Kagome finally lifted her hands to wipe her tears away. She was so scared of what she would say when she finally say Inuyasha again, "I think I am falling in love with someone else."

"From your time?" The demon- huntress asked, "I guess three years could make that happen." She wanted to say Inuyasha would understand, she wanted to promise that their friendship would be just fine, but she herself was not sure so she just kept her arm around Kagome's shoulder.

Kagome had to tell someone. It was eating at her insides and she needed advice from someone she trusted, "No, from here."

Sango pulled away and looked at her friend. "From _this_ time? You met someone while you were away?"

Kagome nodded slowly.

"Where exactly where you, and what happened? No," Sango pulled away and sat down properly, "Start from the beginning." Kagome nodded and obliged. She told her everything, from meeting the daiyoukai in her time, to becoming trapping in the jewel, to meeting Gendo, and finally her agreement to let Sesshomaru court her. But she refused to mention the wolf youki that had been passed on to her, because she herself was still sceptical. The demon huntress stared in disbelief, not a single thing in that story sounded plausible yet she knew it was all true.

"Why _him_? What Lord Sesshomaru? Inuyasha is going to try and kill him." Sango said, her mouth still partway open in disbelief, "Doesn't he hate humans?"

"I don't know Sango, it just happened. I think I might have already fallen for him, and I don't know what to tell Inuyasha because it's bad enough that I am falling in love with someone else, but _Sesshomaru_?" Kagome sighed and let her shoulders slump in defeat, "I am at their strange point where I want to see Inuyasha, but I would also do anything to avoid him."

"You have to tell him, sooner rather than later." Sango said, doing her best to sound both firm and understanding. "It will take a very, very long time, but I think if it makes you happy, he will understand. But first," Sango picked up the tea and noticed it had gone cold, "I'll make you some more tea."

Kagome nodded and sighed, "Why can't my life be nice and simple like yours?"

Sango looked at her children, they were still sleeping despite Rin and Shippo playing around them, "Simple is nice, but you jumped down a well five hundred years into the past; there is no room for simple in your life." She handed her friend a fresh cup of tea. "You and Lord Sesshomaru, huh. I know it's true, but I still can't believe it." Kagome lifted her cups to her lips,

"I almost don't believe it myself."

….

Sesshomaru had picked up Inuyasha's scent first, but had put of the unpleasant encounter by tracking down the monk first. The monk was reasonable, painfully so; the whole discussion took mere minutes and before he knew it, the monk was heading back to his village, and he, Sesshomaru, was flying towards his useless half-breed brother. There had to be things in life more unpleasant than speaking to his brother, he just could not come up with a single example at the moment.

He landed soundlessly upwind from his half-brother, careful to completely mask his youki. He enjoyed seeing the flash of self-doubt in the half-breed's eyes every time he successfully arrived without his knowledge. "Half-breed."

Inuyasha nearly jumped. His half flew to the hilt of his sword and he drew it menacingly, "What the fuck do you want Sesshomaru?"

Sesshomaru looked at his half-brother's messy appearance and poor stance, and he could not help but wonder what exactly Kagome had ever seen in the hanyou. "Put that thing away before you hurt yourself half-breed." He said, the irritation in his voice was a natural side-effect of having to look at that thing he apparently shared a blood-line with.

"Hurt myself? Keh, the only one getting hurt is you." Inuyasha snarled. He may not have been the most reasonable person, but the blinding hatred he felt whenever he saw Sesshomaru clouded his judgement in entirely new ways.

"Your Miko," _Your Miko_ the words almost burnt Sesshomaru as he spoke them. She was not Inuyasha's miko, she was his Kagome, his and no one else's. But, she didn't want the half-breed to know that yet, and out of honour and trust, he was going to respect that. "The miko has returned, she is with the demon slayer."

"What the fuck?" Inuyasha spat angrily, "You had here this whole time? Where the fuck did you take her? I swear if you did anything to my Kagome-"

"Be quiet." Sesshomaru cut in sharply, "I have no interest in your human."

"Then why the hell did you come and tell me? How would you know where she is anyway?" Inuyasha's demands were met with a cold glare and a turned back. Sesshomaru had stretched his patience far enough for one day, and he had no intention of testing to see how much farther he could stretch it. Moreover, the sun was already lowering onto the horizon and he had told Kagome he would be back by nightfall. Gathering the clouds under his feet he lifted himself into the air and sped towards the village.

Shippo caught the daiyoukai's scent on the wind and went rigid. Kagome noticed the change in the kit, who up until then had been watching Sango's children crawl around and play with each other. "Lord Sesshomaru is back." He said quietly before pulling his knees up to his chest,

"You don't have to be scared of him; he is not going to hurt anyone. He is really nice." Kagome was trying to be reassuring but the kit kept scooting away from her. "What is the matter?"

"Shippo thinks Lord Sesshomaru is going to take you and Rin away, and leave him with no one." Rin said in that fussy way children do when they believe someone else is being irrational, "I told him he is being silly, we will all be together. Because you love Lord Sesshomaru, and you love Shippo, so you are not going to leave anyone behind. And now that you are here, Rin can come along too."

Kagome felt the blood rush to her face. She swore she and Sango had kept their voices as low as humanly possible, but apparently Shippo's hearing had grown much better in the past few years. "Tell Shippo you and Lord Sesshomaru are going to get married, and _all of us_ are going to live in the Palace and be happy."

"That's not true!" Shippo snapped at Rin, "I am not her real son so he won't let me stay. It doesn't matter what she wants, youkai don't take strays!"

"He took Rin." Both children were on their feet, glaring at each other. Rin was now much taller than Shippo, but he did not let that stand in his way. "You just don't want to share Kagome."

"Ok," Kagome said sternly; she had never seen either of them behave like this. She looked at Shippo, "No one is getting left behind," the kit opened his mouth to object but she spoke over him, "no one." She turned her attention to Rin who looked quite self-satisfied, "And no one is saying anything about this to anyone else, ok?" Both children nodded, although they were not quite at peace with each other, but at least they were not fighting. "Come here," Kagome opened her arms to both of them and they hugged her. Shippo buried his face in the crook of her neck where he always left his scent-mark, covering the daiyoukai's own warm, earthy scent.

She pulled away from the two and stood up, "Now you two make up, I will be back soon." The moment she turned her back Rin flashed a triumphant grin at Shippo,

"Rin was right."

Kagome sighed and shook her head. "This is not going to be even a little bit easy, is it?" She muttered under her breath as she slid open the door.

"Not even in the slightest." Sesshomaru said when she opened the door; he was right on the other side and had heard every word she had exchanged with Rin and Shippo.

Kagome jumped, ", Oh my god. You scared me."

He let out a short breath that Kagome took for a laugh, "Such blunt senses, how do humans even survive?" Over her shoulder he could see the demon huntress, Rin, and the fox kit looking at them. He did not like the audience. He leaned closed to Kagome slightly, and caught the scent of fox displayed prominently on her. He did not like the audience at all. He looked over her shoulder and narrowed his eyes at Shippo who scurried behind Rin.

"We do just fine, thank you." She shot back, folding her arms across her chest in mock stubbornness.

"The half-breed will be here by tomorrow, the monk might take another day to arrive." He said, his golden eyes were fixed on her as he spoke, waiting to see her reaction. She went from disbelief to beaming in this slow, yet enchanting fashion that almost drew a smile from him.

"You went to find them and tell them I was here? Wait, you spoke to Inuyasha, with real words? For me?" She took his hand and relished how that hole in her heart seemed to close itself, "You are secretly nice." Their auras reached out for each other and melded in the air between them,

"Come Kagome, there are things we should speak about."

Sango watched the pair walk off together. It appears that the demon lord was actually talking to her friend, and Kagome was laughing. Sango bit her lip to stop herself from smiling; it had been a long time since she had seen her friend so happy about a man, and as happy as she was for Kagome, she was equally worried about how Inuyasha would react.

"You mentioned our courtship to your companions?" He asked once he was certain they were far enough away from the village, "I was under the impression that you did not want to speak about it at this time." He placed his hand on her cheek gently and lowered his face to her, brushing his cheek against hers. Rose water, some strange bitter yet addictive citrus, and that entirely new scent that he still could not place.

"To Inuyasha," Kagome said, his breath against her skin caused her to hitch, so the rest of her sentence took much more work to force out, "Did you think I meant I did not want to speak about it _at all_?"

Sesshomaru felt oddly light; as though he were happy? But it could not be because nothing of significance had happened to elicit such a reaction. When he did not respond Kagome continued, "That is not what I meant, of course I have to tell Sango, she is my best friend, and Shippo needs to know as well because I am all he has. Where I go, he goes."

He finally pulled away, happy that the stench of fox was buried underneath his scent. "The fox kit? You need to train him better." He said flatly, "He keeps scent marking you and that is unacceptable. You are not part of his pack, he is part of yours. It is insulting."

"He is a child, how was he supposed to know that?" Kagome shrugged, "I'd say you should tell him, but he thinks you hate him."

"I hate lack of discipline." He said flatly.

"It's not his fault all he had to teach him were humans and a hanyou." She said softly. She looked stunning. The way the moonlight hit her hair and lit up her features was beyond breath taking, but it was her eyes that did him in; large, sapphires glinting in the moonlight, shining for him.

"Miko, do you believe I will force you to leave your kit behind?" He asked, his fingers traced the delicate outline of her jaw,

"As if that would be possible." She smirked, and a fire flashed behind those glittering sapphires. It was getting harder and harder for him to stand there and only look. His finger migrated from her jaw to her lower lip and she leaned forward a tiny bit more, she was so off balance a gently breeze could push her into him. But the breeze was taking too long, and the daiyoukai was being too subtle, so she took matters into her own hands. Rising onto her tip-toes she lifted her lips to meet his.

At first he was taken aback by her forwardness. No other female he knew would even think to act first. The softness of her lips against his pushed those thoughts out of his mind and he could think about was the miko in his arms, and the way her fingers laced through his hair. He could feel his more feral side tugging to break free. He cradled the back of her head, and deepened the kiss, parting her lips gently his slipped his tongue into her mouth and it was explosive. The grass around them whipped with the power of their auras intertwining.

At that moment Sesshomaru knew, beyond the whisper of a doubt, that he had found his mate.


	16. Stand Ground

**Stand Ground**

"Kagome!" The thundering of her name jolted the miko awake.

"Wha?" She asked, her words half-formed due to the residual sleep in her voice. She had barely registered her surroundings when she had the wind knocked out of her by the most ambitious hug ever.

"I am so sorry. I shouldn't have left; I should have stayed and protected you."

She blinked the tiredness out of her eyes, "Inuyasha?" He words still dragged with the weight of interrupted sleep.

"I am so happy you are alright." He said softly. He buried his face in her hair and enjoyed the sweet vanilla of her shampoo. "I am never letting you go again."

Kagome felt her heart sink to her feet. He really did care for her, and all she could do in return was hurt him? In the worst way possible? "It's fine Inuyasha, things out of our control happen all the time."

"I let you down."

She wriggled out of his embrace and looked at him. She had never seen him look so tired before. "I am fine, so it doesn't even matter."

The hanyou let go of her fully at sat at the foot of her futon. "What happened? Was Sesshomaru responsible? I swore to him that if he so much as-"

"Inuyasha," she cut in, "I am fine. And no, Sesshomaru did not hurt me; he helped me."

He folded his arms across his chest stubbornly and his ears twitched in irritation, "Good, because I would kill him."

"You know that jewel I told you about? You know why I came back?" She crawled across the futon and sat next to her friend, "It found me. That is where I was, and Sesshomaru helped me destroy it."

"Tch, I would have helped." Inuyasha said, his arms still firmly across his chest like some petulant child. Kagome stared at him; her gaze did not require words. "Ok, he did one good thing. The bastard still isn't a fucking saint." Inuyasha finally unfolded his arms, "So what are we doing now?" His voice softened and he reached for Kagome's hand but she moved away before he could hold it,

"Well, I need to go see if I can use the well again, and after that I need to go see Kouga."

The hanyou looked at her in a mixture of disbelief and irritation, her tiny rejection hurt but he refused to let it show, so instead he channeled all the emotions that Kouga's name brought to mind, "What the hell do you need that asshole for? Look, I don't care about that right now," He golden eyes softened as he locked gazes with her, "I mean what about _us_?"

She could feel the tears starting to sting her eyes, pinpricks of guilt even when she closed her eyes and tried to gather the necessary courage. She thought she could hide it from him, she thought she could lie just for a little bit, and slowly ease him into the truth. She didn't have it in her to deceive a friend, not about something so important. "We are friends, and I don't think it could go anywhere beyond that." She said softly.

He reached for her hand again but this time she placed both hands firmly in her lap, "I know you care about me a lot," she continued, "But I just don't have those feelings for you anymore."

"I get it Kagome, it's been three years but I know if we give it a shot we could go back to how we were before you left." He was much braver this time, he took her hands in his own by force, "it's meant to be."

She shook her head slowly, "I am with someone else."

Inuyasha let go of her hand, his golden eyes searched her intently not quite knowing what they were supposed to be looking for. "Who? Since when?"

She refused to answer.

"From your time? From now?" Inuyasha pressed on, his voice rising with each word.

She could not tell him. She did not have the capacity to form the words herself, to hurt him like that. "I'm sorry" she said softly. The hanyou sprang to his feet and slammed his fist against a wall,

"Who the fuck is it Kagome, and how long?"

This was not the reunion she had been envisioning; she thought she would be strong enough to lie through at least one day and have a few hours of normalcy, but apparently not. "Is it Koga?" Inuyasha demanded, "Is that why you want to see him so badly?"

"No," She said indignantly, "It's- it's-" The name died on her lips. She could not. The room door slid open sharply and Sango stared at the pair,

"Kagome just tell him before he wakes up my children." Sango said, she was trying to sound as sympathetic as she could because she really did feel bad for her friend and the situation she was in, but she was also very sleep deprived and not at all pleased with being woken up by the yells of an irate hanyou.

"She knows?" Inuyasha pointed at Sango, his words brimmed with rage, "Well some friends you are. All I ever did, Kagome, was love you. Is this really what I deserve?"

Kagome could feel her guilt calcifying into anger. All he ever did was love her? Bullshit. All he ever did was make her cry time and time again. He would say he loved her, and then would run off to Kikyo every single night. "I don't owe you my love Inuyasha," she had finally found her words and was ready to use them, "Yes, I loved you before but I am allowed to change my mind, I am allowed to love someone else."

"Well who the fuck is so great then that he makes all we have been through together mean nothing?" Inuyasha yelled. Sango twitched in annoyance.

Kagome straightened her spine and somewhere inside herself, found her courage, "Sesshomaru."

The whole world seemed to grow silent, a moment of silence so acute Kagome could hear the blood rushing in her ears. And then everything exploded. "Are you fucking kidding me?" Inuyasha was so loud Kagome rocked backwards. The sound of crying pierced the air and Sango rushed out of the room and to her children. "Is that were you were? Running around fucking my brother? What the fuck happened to you? What the fuck happened to 'oh I just got back, I am not sure'? You liar. Well that makes sense now because he doesn't like humans so he is probably done with you and you are trying to run to Kouga." He seethed.

The air around her began to smell faintly of wolf, but he was too furious to notice. "Inuyasha," she said as she stood up. He glared at her,

She glared back with eyes that were lightening into an icy blue, and he glared back, "Don't you even dare men-" he never finished his phrase; A loud slap cut his words short.

The slap rang through the house so clearly that it made Sango, who was on the other side of the house, pause. "Don't you dare speak to me like that ever again. Are we clear?" It was her turn to boil with rage. He opened his mouth to speak but she stopped him, " _I_ was clear with you from the beginning; _I_ never strung you along. You never even showed me that courtesy so don't now stand here and say 'all I ever did was love you'. All you ever did was hurt me, but I got past that. Yes, I am with Sesshomaru, but at least I have the decency to tell you the truth."

"Keh," he kept his eyes hidden behind his silver bangs, "So I should suddenly be happy for you? I should forget that you knew what a bastard he is to me and everyone else? Forgot that you knew I much I loved you, and how much I hated him? Forget that he tried to kill me numerous times? Forget that he tried to kill you?" He pushed past her and left the room.

Kagome sank onto her futon and pulled her knees to her chest. It hurt so much more than normal; everyday her heart hurt, just as Sesshomaru had warned her it would, but right now the pain was near unbearable. She put her hand over her chest where it hurt and nearly jumped when she felt the sharpness of claws against her skin.

….

"Inuyasha,"

At the sound of his name he stopped at the main door and looked at Sango who was glaring daggers at him. "Don't even try to tell me I should 'be happy for her'." He snapped, his words were still angry but they were tempered by the continued sting from Kagome's slap.

"Nope," Sango shook her head, "All I have to say is now you understand how she felt every single day for two years. Hope it makes you proud that that's how she remembers what it's like to love you." With that she left to continue to tend to her children.

Inuyasha gripped the door frame so tightly his claws dug into the wood. "Fuck." He yelled before storming out and slamming the door behind him.

Kagome heard the door slam. She lay on her side and curled up tightly. Pulling her knees to her chest she shit her eyes and tried to convince herself Inuyasha would come around. And when she was at her lowest, thoughts of Gendo and all the other youkai she had failed snuck into her mind to torment her further.

….

This was not at all a productive use of his time. Six weeks away meant that reports had piled ceiling high. There were matters in his land he needed to be sure were in order. He expected them to be in order because his lower lords knew he would accept nothing short of perfection. But regardless, he needed to confirm for himself. A ball was not what he required at the moment; how was he supposed to negotiate what his lands needed if he was not sure what exactly that was to begin with. Life had a way of getting on his bad side.

"Lord Sesshomaru," A female crane youkai glided to him, her eyes were a brilliant gold that matched the detailing of her kimono, "You have been noticeably absent for a while, the court has been much dimmer without your presence." She bowed to him, looking at him through heavy lidded eyes she smiled, "I am glad you have returned, may I inquire as to what could have taken you away from us for so long?"

He knew what she was trying to do. He could feel her youkai snaking around his. Such attention used to me a minor annoyance to him, but now that he could think of nothing but Kagome it was absolutely irritating. He looked at her in all her elegance, her dark hair piled beautifully on top of her head and held in place with an ornate comb. ' _That would suite Kagome quite well'_ he thought as he admired the comb,

"My Lord," the crane said, drawing his attention back to her,

"Business kept me away, now I would ask that you pardon me." He said curtly and walked past her without waiting for a response. He had just managed to escape when another female youkai assailed him with her presence and unwelcome attempt at conversation.

It took a many more tried and many more less than polite shutting-down of attempts at conversation before he finally made it across the room to where his mother was speaking to an older badger youkai he recognized as the Lord of the South. "Ah, look who has finally graced us with his presence," His mother said, her voice dry and sarcastic as usual.

"Mother, Lord Bakusui" Sesshomaru bowed respectfully,

"Lord Sesshomaru," The badger bowed in turn. His mother just kept her eyes on her distant son,

"Where have you been all this while? It hurts a mother when her only child disappears without a word." God, she could be dramatic but in the most thinly veiled condescending manner.

"Lord Bakusui, I hope you will forgive my intrusion but there are urgent matters I must discuss with Lady Sadako."

"Of course, of course, I will just leave you for a minute," Bakusui said, "It is good to finally see you around again Lord Sesshomaru, the North was getting a bit bold in your absence."

Sesshomaru offered his arm to his mother, "Shall we walk?" His mother was his 'go to' whenever he encountered something strange; she knew all sorts of things no one had any business knowing. He was very certain that someday they would start calling her a witch due to her vast knowledge of the unusual.

"Are you courting some poor woman again?" Sadako was always forward with her son, because she knew no one else would have the courage to be.

Sesshomaru bristled. It annoyed him how she could always tell, as though she had some magic way of spying on his life. He would not be surprised if she did. "That is not the issue I want to speak to you about mother."

"Oh dear, you are," Sadako shook her head, "How much time do you have left on this one? It is usually a two to three week period before you – in all your wisdom – get bored and decide she is unworthy."

Sesshomaru let out a frustrated breath, "That is not why I need to speak with you." He said firmly. Also she was wrong, so very wrong. How could he get bored in two weeks when he was already smitten in two days?

"Ok, I am listening." She said. It amused her how defensive he always became about his private life.

"What would happen if a youkai managed to pass his youki to a human?" He stopped at the window and looked outside. It already so late in the night, apparently he would not get to see her today.

"If it were possible, which I am fairly certain it is not, the sheer power would kill them instantly." Sadako looked outside as well and admired the night sky. It was not often she got to have such an extended conversation with her son. She was like him; carefully guarded with an unbreakable mask, so their relationship had withered to nothing but formal words and hidden emotions.

"And if they were a miko of considerable power, and somehow survived, what would she be then? Say, for a moment she ran out of reiki, but instead of dying from exhaustion she turned full youkai, and then later turned back human. What does that mean?" He did not care what it meant in terms of human or not. He had found his mate and that was never going to change, what he did care about was whether she was safe.

"I do not know; I have never heard of such a situation. I cannot help you, and I do not know anyone who could." She took Sesshomaru's face in her hands and forced him to look at her, looking into his eyes she searched carefully for something, anything that was out of place. Everything was perfect, as usual. Her perfect, regal, ice cold son. "Where were you? What did you see? Who is this you are asking about?"

Sesshomaru enjoyed seeing his mother confused; it was a very rare occurrence. There was very little in the world that could so thoroughly floor Lady Sadako, and by chance he had stumbled into one of these rare moments. He placed his hands on hers and removed them from his face; she was still searching his eyes for some answer. "She is to be my intended."

Now _that_ was news to his mother, and on any other day she would have welcomed it but he had said human, and not just any human, but _miko_. She looked at him, her carefully calm features did not betray her surprise. "No," She did not need to say a whole phrase to convey her plea. "I do not care," Sadako said firmly, "but you have to think about the court, think about your lands," Her voice fell well below a whisper, so low that only Sesshomaru could hear and even then he had to listen very closely, "You cannot show weakness. The North has been waiting for such a display of weakness again."

"Mother," His words were firm and well beyond resolute, "When have I failed the West?"

"You father hadn't either, and yet look what happened. Do not do this, I beg of you." She pleaded. Sesshomaru stiffened,

"Stop it." He squared his shoulders and cleared his face of any emotion, when he spoke his words cold and hard, "Will you accept my choice or not? Regardless of your decision I will not change my mind."

Sadako sighed, and just like that her only son had shut her out completely. Any woman that loved him must definitely be strong. "You know I will always stand by you, even in your moments of foolishness."

"That is all." Sesshomaru said before walking away. No goodbye, no backwards glance, just the ice daiyoukai telling himself that the West – no, Kagome herself, could stand up to anyone who would dare see her as a weakness. He looked out the window again, it was not _that_ late. If he left now… he looked around; this was far from a necessary event. Leaving the room as discretely as possible the Western Lord made his way outside where he gathered his clouds beneath his feet and flew off.

Sadako watched her son disappear into the sky. Only the gods could help this bloodline.

…..

By the time he arrived the whole village was silent with sleep. He heard the beginnings of a growl from a dog which had been awoke by the arrival, but with one glare he silenced the animal; it whimpered and sulked away. He sniffed the air for a sign of Inuyasha, but the hanyou's scent as faint and far away, which was very strange because if Inuyasha had been searching for Kagome as earnestly and tirelessly as she believed, then now that she had returned he should have been militantly guarding her. He looked around again, more carefully this time, and sensing no trouble he carefully opened the house door and entered. The fire cat stirred and opened one eye lazily, spotting the familiar daiyoukai it simply stretched and went back to sleep, apparently he was no longer a threat.

The first thing he noticed when he opened the door to the room was the smell of salt lingering in the air. He walked to her and knelt beside her futon, brushing the hair out of her face he noticed the dried tears on her face. The first thing he felt was rage towards whoever had made her cry so much that the salt was _in_ her futon. The he felt the overwhelming urge to comfort her "Kagome," he shook her gently. It was well past the hour that anyone should be awake, but he was not particularly concerned about that, "Kagome."

She opened her eyes slowly. She would have been annoyed at having her sleep interrupted for a second time, but it was that voice that made her feel safe and hopeful so she could not find it in herself to be truly upset. Not when she needed the comfort. "It's so late," She said as she sat up, wiping the sleep from her eyes, "what are you doing in here?"

He ignored her questions and instead posed his own, "Why have you been crying so much?"

"Oh," she said, as she tried to wipe the dried tears off her face. She had spent the whole day vacillating between being angry with Inuyasha for how unbelievably unkind he had been to her, and crying about how much she must have hurt him to have driven him to say such things and then leave again. In the end she had cried herself to sleep because for the first time, she was sure she had lost him as a friend forever and the thought of it was too much for her to bear. And once again, when she was at her lowest the memory of all those youkai she had let down came crawling into her dreams. "Nothing."

Sesshomaru looked at her evenly and she knew he was not leaving without the truth. "I told Inuyasha about us. I thought I could hide it from him for a bit, and ease him into it, but he kept asking about his and my future and I could not lie to him. I can't lie to my friends."

He should have been there. If he had known she was going to tell the hanyou now, he would have been there. "Did he hurt you?" Sesshomaru asked, his words were the calm before a storm.

"No, he would never." She said quickly, neglecting to mention that in the moment she had not been a hundred percent sure. She placed her hand on his and the pain that had been throbbing in her chest lifted, "But he took it hard and I think I lost a friend. God I hurt him so much. I swore I would never make anyone feel the way I felt whenever he would run off to Kikyo, and now look, I did. To him."

He squeezed her hand reassuringly, he had no words of comfort he could offer so he did the only thing he could and was there for her. He could smell fresh salt as she began to cry anew, "He deserves to be happy, he deserves so much better than this." He had never understood how something as simple as a friendship could run so deep, but apparently it did. He wrapped his arms around her and held her till she had stopped crying. Ideally, he would have made Inuyasha bleed for harming what was his, but he knew she would not approve of that, and moreover she wrongly blamed herself instead of the half-breed who had made her endure years of heartache, and now guilted her for not returning his poorly-timed affections.

Kagome pulled away from him and wiped away the last of her tears. "I'll be fine though." She said, more to herself than to him. If he had a bond with her he would have known the moment something went wrong, but it was far too soon for him to ask. He was not even sure what would tell him it was the right time to ask; with demonesses there was a strict protocol. Yes, he had never made it that far into a courtship, but still at least there was a protocol to follow. With her, he was like a blind man searching for something, with only the vaguest descriptions to guide him.

He held out the rosewood box he had brought for her. The first thing you brought to a courtship was a show of wealth, an exchange of increasingly ostentatious gifts to show that your families were of good enough standing. But what would Kagome do with a chest of jewels? Or hundreds of yards of enchanted silk?

She opened the box and gasped. Sitting on a bed of silk was a gold inlaid ivory hair piece, beautiful in its simplicity and elegance, with a matching pin from which dangled pearls and blue jade. He had commissioned it that very evening; he picked out the jewels himself to make sure they would reflect her eyes in the _perfect_ manner. And then he had told the jeweler to have to in hours, no excuses, and no shortcuts. Finally, he had ordered them enchanted so they would always call to her when she was unsettled, and calm her. "Are you insane?" Her eyes shot from the gift to the daiyoukai, "I cannot accept this; it looks like is costs more than my house."

He pushed her dark hair over her shoulders and pulled it into a simple, yet graceful bun. First the pin, then the hair piece, and then he looked at the woman he intended to make his mate. She was ethereal and that rosy blush on her cheeks called to his inner beast in ways he had never imagined possible. He pressed his forehead to hers and took in a deep breath, enjoying the way her smell soothed his soul. One day he would ask her just what those strange scents were. "Kagome, you will never want for anything."

She slipped her hand behind the daiyoukai's neck, tilted her head upwards and pressed her lips against his in a sweet, yet passionate kiss. For a moment, all her nightmares went scurrying.

He pulled her towards him and trailed kisses down her neck, burying his nose in the crook of her neck and kissed her on the collarbone. "I do not like this distance between us." He murmured against her skin, sending shivers down her spine.

She pulled away slightly looked at him through half-lidded eyes, her gaze an electrifying bright blue. He could feel the youki spilling out of her, and he knew he should stop to understand the sudden emergence of her inner wolf, but he could not stop. He wanted to claim every single part of her, he wanted her with an urgency he had never wanted anything before .He ghosted his lips over hers, and her shudder shook him in ways he had previously thought impossible.

She pushed forward and pressed her lips against his, her fangs grazing his lower lip in a teasing warning that for the moment she was in charge. In the heat of desire the youki resting deep inside her had ridden her more primal desire and surface, making her more youkai than human. He deepened the kiss, pulling her even tighter against him. He pushed her yukata partially off her shoulder, kissed her along her jaw line and neck, and nipped at the smooth skin calling out to him to own it.

The youki that had been fighting its way to the surface within her exploded, overpowering every trace of reiki and bursting out of her with enough force to push back her hair. Sesshomaru stopped, "Kagome?"

She looked down at her clawed hands, and then up at the inudaiyoukai, the lust in his eyes now replaced with acute concern. "I feel fine," Kagome said quickly, hoping to dispel any worry, "I just feel…" before she could finish her sentence her reiki surged forward, overpowering the youki and the blue light around her turned a vibrant pink.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** So some of you might hate me for Inuyasha's reaction, but I view his character as actually in love with Kagome but also selfish and short-tempered. He is not the most tactful, nor emotionally mature but this is not the last we see of him; he is just throwing a little tantrum. _


	17. All's Fair

**All's Fair**

The sun peeking over the horizon cast a soft orange light over the village. He had stayed much longer than he had intended to. He had been visiting her almost daily for the past two weeks, and it always ended with him staying later than he planned. With no answers to her wildly fluctuating youki and reiki the only thing he could do as wait by her side, help her meditate to draw both halves of herself into harmony. It was not until he heard the soft footsteps of the monk rising to meditate that he looked up and notice the soft light of the rising sun. "The sun is already rising."

She looked at the sky as well, "Oh, I did not even notice. I guess that means you have to leave?" She dug her fingers into the grass and felt the first drops of morning dew. Somehow had gotten lost in their conversation and let the sunrise on them.

"I have business to tend to." He stood up with enviable grace, "But I will return."

"I was thinking of going to the Eastern wolves to see Koga, which means soon I won't be in the village." Kagome said. Ideally she would have gone to the bone eaters well to see if she could go home, but with Inuyasha gone there was no guarantee she would be able to return to this era. So, as difficult as it was, she had decided to stay.

Sesshomaru looked at her through narrowed, unamused eyes that she had come to realise meant that he seriously doubted the sense behind what she had just said, "Koga is Gendo's son, and my friend. I think I owe him a visit, at the very least." She stood up and brushed the dirt off her pyjamas, "I'm going to be fine; I will find a guide who knows how to get there. I was going to go with Inuyasha at first but-"

"I will provide someone to accompany you." he cut in. A guide? A random human to walk with her all the way to the north east of Japan? He told himself that she could not have truly believed he would have accepted such an arrangement, but the nonchalance with which she had informed him of her plans indicated that she had.

"You don't have to do that; I can more than take care of myself." Her tone stopped just shy of defensive,

"I do not think you are incapable of taking care of yourself," and it was true; he knew better than anyone else that she was a force to be reckoned with, but that did not change his desire to keep her out of even the shadow of potential harm. Now he had decided she would be his, she would never need to touch her bow for anything but recreation. "Walking to the Eastern wolves would take far too long."

"I guess I can't argue with that logic," She smiled, "Thank you." She wanted to touch him, perhaps hug him for his kindness, but since the sun rose and people began to leave their hurt and mill around, she had noticed the firmness creep into his stance and the careful distance of his tone. This was his public persona; the ice daiyoukai, and a display of affection seemed sorely out of place. He nodded in return and walked away. She watched his mass of silver hair swaying with each step, underneath all that steely distance he truly cared about her. She pushed forward her reiki till it brushed against him.

He felt the warmth of her caress at the very edges of his senses and he slowed his steps. He looked over his shoulder at the miko who was smiling at him and he had to stop himself from turning back. He nodded in silent acknowledgement of her affection, looked forward, and took to the skies.

He did not have to think twice about who he would ask to accompany Kagome; there were there extremely compelling reasons that made his choice near automatic. Firstly, this was a meeting he had hoped to happen since she had told him the truth about herself, second, this youkai could keep an eye on her and make sure she did not get too close to the wolves; Sesshomaru was in no mood to complicate his political life, and finally, this was one of the few youkai that he would entrust with his own life.

He rose higher and higher into the air, breezed past the barrier hanging in the sky and finally landed at the steps of his mother's palace. Of course his mother would choose a home in the sky; she had always had a penchant for mystery and theatrics, which did not always sit well with his straight-forward personality but family was family.

"Lord Sesshomaru," the guards bowed at the sight of the Western lord, before Sesshomaru could ask about his mother or cousin a loud voice answered his unasked question.

"Well would you believe who it is?" A familiar voice carried across the courtyard, it slurred in its usual semi-drunken manner and was soon followed by a beaming dragon youkai. "Aunt Sadako, I told you it was him. Is the world ending down there? I can't imagine what else would bring you all this way."

"What magic is at work that would bring you to visit me?" Sadako never received guests at the gate; she had a lovely home that she was very proud of, and the hospitality of her staff was impeccable. But Sesshomaru, as with everything he did, found a way to be the exception. He, in his own words, was 'far too busy for pointless niceties' and thus had not stepped inside the home in almost a century; if she did not meet him at the gate, Sadako would not see her son.

Sesshomaru ignored his mother's words; instead he bowed politely and went straight to the purpose of his visit as though neither youkai in front of him had spoken, "I require Hiromasa to escort an acquaintance to the Eastern wolf clan." That was the closest to asking for a favour Sesshomaru would get, and the rest of his family accepted it as a part of his nature.

Hiromasa was ready to make a joke about the inudaiyoukai's icy demeanor, but the request shocked the humour out of him, "The eastern wolves? What business do you have with the wolves? And why me; you have so many very good soldiers at your disposal."

"The person is of particular importance and I will entrust the task to no other. As for the wolves, I have no business with them, and I require you see to it that your charge ends her visit with no business with them." He looked at Hiromasa who was watching him with careful scrutiny, looking for a reason for his cousin's bizarre request. He would do it; the question was never whether he would, but he just needed to know why this could be so important that Sesshomaru would personally ask him for a favour.

Sadako stepped forward and placed a hand on her son's cheek, forcing him to look at her. He obliged with a carefully blank stare that stung, "Yes mother, it is the miko. If you would like to withdraw your support, do so quickly otherwise I have matters to attend to."

"Sesshomaru, she is a human, a _holy_ human. You would let her purifying powers so close to you? But more than that, she has links to the wolves? You cannot drive the East to the North – it is foolish."

He did not so much as flinch, "Withdraw your support or let my choices be. This is getting tedious."

"So it is true then, you intended to mate a human." Hiromasa said incredulously. The narrowing of Sesshomaru's eyes was more than enough warning, and the brown-haired youkai quickly changed the subject, "You are asking me to carry a miko, to trust a holy human with such proximity to me for such an extended period of time."

Sesshomaru looked at his cousin, "I am asking you to guard her, and not to touch a single drink whilst she is in your charge."

Hiromasa let out a deep breath. That was such an awful condition. "Fine, I will carry your little miko." This was the ultimate show of trust. "Next time I visit the western palace I expect to have a personal liquor stock in my room."

…

Miroku stopped mid-stride; there were not one, but two daiyoukai walking towards his home, and their very presence sent the villagers scurrying. He sighed; were he not a respected priest he was certain they would start accusing him of being a youkai himself. Kagome did not notice; she was still examining Miroku's purchases from the market and teasing him about being a devoted 'house-husband'. When he did not reply she looked to her right, notice he was missing, and looked forward in case he had walked ahead, and what she saw made her almost drop the basket. He looked the same yet so very different. He had a single blue stripe on each cheek, his hair was longer and pulled back into a low, loose ponytail that dropped to the middle of his back, his stride was care-free and had a slight lilt to it that contrasted sharply with the tightly contained man that had walked into the school gym and demanded she open the bone-eaters well.

"Is this our little miko?" He grinned, he placed both hands on his waist and leaned forward so he could examine her more closely. "She is a bit short though." He looked at Sesshomaru who was more fixated on Kagome's reaction.

"Lord Hiromasa?" She said, not quite believing her eyes. Her tone was enough to satiate his curiosity; it was the same Hiromasa after all. It was funny to think that his alcoholic cousin would be the last Daiyoukai left.

"Oh, you mentioned me to her? How flattering." Hiromasa beamed, he was so much happier and so easy with his smiles that Kagome found it difficult to reconcile this man in front of her with the man she had met before. But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense; how would he have known when Sesshomaru disappeared, or have gotten his hands on Inuyasha's subjugation beads unless he had some connection to at least one of the brothers.

Suddenly Hiromasa's grin fell from his face. He leaned forward and looked Kagome up and down very carefully. "I am assuming there is a good reason you failed to mention that she has wolf youki somehow just sitting inside her." His words were directed at Sesshomaru but his eyes remained fixed on Kagome.

"It was no concern of yours." Sesshomaru clipped.

Hiromasa had known the inudaiyoukai far too long to be upset. If Sesshomaru had kept that information to himself, it meant he was uncertain and Hiromasa knew how much uncertainty ate at his cousin. "She is going to leave with business with the wolves, because she _is_ one – or will be."

"Kagome, Hiromasa will escort you to the Eastern wolves and back, if you leave now you should arrive before nightfall." Sesshomaru said flatly, he turned his attention to the dragon youkai, "Not a single drink or I will have your head." With that he turned and left without so much as a backwards glance.

"Oh please, by all means just ignore me. It's not like I know what I am talking about or anything." Hiromasa said to Sesshomaru's retreating figure. When he received no response, Hiromasa sighed in frustration and then turned his attention to Kagome, "Go say goodbye to your friends, or family or whatever they are; we are leaving now."

Her eyes snapped up to the dragon youkai, "What? Right now?"

"I can't drink until you are back here; the sooner we leave, the sooner I can get back to my normal life and my much loved vices."

Kagome looked at Miroku who had wisely chosen to remain silent. He heard of Kagome's changing relationship with the Lord of the West, and was still getting used to the idea, and now to see them interact was strange because there was not even the hint of a change in Sesshomaru's demeanor; not even the slightest indication of affection passed between the two, not even from Kagome who was typically so expressive with her emotions. "Sango and I will look after Rin and Shippo until you return."

Something in her was restless to see Kouga and start working on fulfilling Gendo's last wish. To her, her mission in the feudal era was not quite over with the destruction of the jewel; it had simply passed onto another task. "OK, just give me a moment to pack my belongings." She conceded. Her heart was pounding with anticipation. She was going off, of her own volition, with none of her old companions. Sango and Miroku had a life now, a wonderfully happy life, and Inuyasha had disappeared without a word. She looked at the brown-haired youkai who was now following her and Miroku back to the house. It was truly the beginning of a new life.

….

"What is that thing you are carrying?" Hiromasa asked as Kagome approached him, ready to leave.

"His name is Shippo, and he is coming along." Rin had fallen in love with this new village and was not at all bothered by being left behind for a little bit, and her bitter experience with wolves did not make her any more inclined to visit anytime soon. Shippo, on the other hand, was not about to let Kagome out of his sight again. Hiromasa picked Shippo up by the scruff of his neck and examined him carefully,

"A fox. Foxes can be so annoying with their little illusions and asinine tricks. It can really get under your skin; but this one is just a kit so he shouldn't be too much trouble."

Kagome grabbed him out of Hiromasa's hand, "It was never up for discussion; he is coming with us."

"I never said he wasn't." the dargon daiyoukai looked at the fox kit who was glaring daggers at him. Shippo was not amused by the situation at all; he did not trust Sesshomaru, and there was no way he was going to simply trust this new daiyoukai because Sesshomaru said to. No, he was going to protect Kagome. "Not that little one-tail here would have let you go alone." Hiromasa added, and then much to Shippo's surprise, winked at him.

They were heading to a clearing outside a village when a familiar voice called out, "Kagome." She turned sharply and for a moment she felt nothing. Not relief, not anger, just a shocking emptiness.

"Inuyasha?" She could not quite believe her eyes. He was walking towards her, his ears pressed flat against his head in shame.

"I came back." He said so softly that she almost had to strain her ears to hear. He was walking towards her, but she could not make her feet move towards him no matter how much she thought she should. He had just disappeared for two weeks, and now he was back as though nothing had happened. "I did it again didn't I? I ran away. But I am sorry, I was just so mad. _Him_ , really?" Inuyasha fixed his eyes on her, "but I did some thinking and I am not giving up that easily. I am going to fight for you." He was about to reach out for her hand when Hiromasa stepped in front of her, blocking her from his reach.

"Careful half-breed, she is my charge." He drawled. Having been raised by Sadako, he knew of Izayoi and Inutashio's infidelity and the insult to Sadako, who had taken him in after the disappearance of his mother, had created a loathing like no other for the hanyou.

Inuyasha's eyes snapped up in anger, "Where the fuck did this piece of work come from?" He said to Kagome, refusing to grant Hiromasa the respect of a formal recognition.

"A sanctioned mating." Hiromasa's word hit hard and Inuyasha growled in response, his hand was already reaching for tessaiga.

"He is taking me to see Koga." Kagome spoke quickly, hoping to dispel the growing tension.

"I'll take you, so tell him he can go back to wherever he came from." Inuyasha's eyes where fixed on the dragon daiyoukai who was looking at him with the cautious disgust with which one would look at newly discovered mould.

Kagome held Shippo tighter. She did not want to travel alone with Inuyasha. Yes, flying was more convenient, but her hesitation stemmed primarily from her fear that he would abandon her again, and this time it would not be in a village, but in the middle of a forest she had no familiarity with. He had a tendency to run away every time she turned him down, and it was not a risk she was willing to take. "I'm not going anywhere, half-breed. Sesshomaru asked me to guide her, and that is what I am going to do, if you get in my way I swear there will be one less hanyou in the world."

Inuyasha looked at Kagome and saw the hesitation that creased her brows. She was not sure. He let go of his sword's hilt; he was going to concede for her, show her that he could be mature and understanding. "Fine, he can come along but I am staying to protect you."

"No strays." Hiromasa said firmly, "I am flying her and the kit to the Eastern wolves, and I don't take hitchhikers."

"Don't be unreasonable." Kagome pleaded with the dragon daiyoukai, but he refused to budge. He could see the desire every time Inuyasha looked at Kagome and there was no way he was going to facilitate the hanyou being near her.

"He's a nice, strong hanyou," Hiromasa's words dripped with sarcasm, "he can run alongside us. I am not carrying him on my back."

Kagome opened her mouth to protest on Inuyasha's behalf but the he beat her to it, "It's fine. He's right; it will be easier if you fly with him," he turned his eyes to the daiyoukai, his claws itching to release his pent up anger, "And yeah, I will run alongside you. I didn't think Sesshomaru would send a lackey."

"If your opinion were of any value I might have taken offense." Hiromasa drawled, his words were lazy as though even speaking to Inuyasha required more effort than it was worth.

"He can just fly above us." Kagome could not bring herself to leave him,

Inuyasha shook his head, "Flying will be easier," He caught her eyes and smirked, "You'd just slow me down if we walked." It was just like old times, and when she smiled back he felt hope flutter in his chest.


	18. Bad Wolf

Kagome held on tightly as Hiromasa dipped towards the ground, he circled over a large clearing a few times before landing. Even though the space was large his tail still swept out, knocking over a few trees. She and Shippo climbed down carefully, and she took a moment to admire the large blue and silver dragon watching her with amused eyes. She had never seen a dragon up close and stood in awe of his majesty. His youki whipped around, pushing back her hair, it swirled around and formed a thick red cloud around him that dissipated to reveal Hiromasa in his human form. "I know I am a magnificent specimen of a dragon; there is no need to gawk."

Kagome rolled her eyes at his arrogance and he laughed, "Your little half-breed friend is about half a day behind us, so we won't be seeing him until we reach the Eastern wolves, pity."

Kagome tilted her head slightly at the disdain that seeped through Hiromasa's words. "Why do you hate Inuyasha so much?"

"I thought Sesshomaru told you who I was." Hiromasa said, settling onto the ground he started looking through Kagome's bags for the food Sango had packed for them.

"Well he told me a little bit," She lied; she could not tell him that she had met him five hundred years in the future. Taking the bag away from him she began to prepare a proper meal for the three of them.

"I wonder how you get along with him; you are really chatty." Hiromasa rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, "Tell you what, I will trade you stories. I will tell you why I dislike the half-breed, and you tell me how exactly you met Sesshomaru and how you can put up with him."

"Fine, but you first." Kagome said.

Hiromasa leaned back and cast his eyes towards the setting sun. He liked her already; she was sweet but fiercely confident, and she genuinely held no ill-will towards youkai which was bizarre given than she was a miko and they were trained to hate youkai, to see it as their life purpose to purify. "Sesshomaru is my cousin; my mother and his father were siblings. And his mother and my mother were so close, they were like sisters. I prefer the latter familial connection; the other way makes the half-breed a stain on my lineage as well."

"But you are not an inuyoukai." She blurted.

Hiromasa lifted on eye-brow and said in a dry, mocking tone, "Yes, I am a dragon. My father was a dragon; Lord of the North. There was a time when the Northern Lands were on the verge of ruins, an alliance with the West saved them." Slowly his tone dipped from mocking to more somber and Kagome knew to listen in patience, "But I am technically half dog. See, with children of mixed heritage you don't know how they will turn out; my markings are from my mother's clan and apparently in my younger years I had silver hair." he pointed to the jagged stripe on his cheek.

"So you are heir to the Northern Lands?" She asked, remembering the seal he had given her, the one that now rested somewhere at the bottom of her bag.

Hiromasa threw his head back and laughed, "No, my younger brother is now Lord of the North. See, when the North finally got on its feet again, my father decided he wanted a full-blooded dragon to rule. So he took another mate, this time some nice dragon youkai and made her Lady of the North, and her child heir. But my mother is an inuyoukai, and we don't take insults lightly. She refused to budge, and asserted her rightful position as the true Lady and mine as heir. Obviously this angered my father because having me alive threatened his precious little full-dragon's claim to the North, and my mother knew it so she sent me off to live with Sesshomaru's mother's clan, she must have felt something was wrong because in a few months she disappeared. Poof, just like magic." Kagome's eyes followed the 'poof' illustration his fingers made and the breath of smoke he used to highlight it. He fixed his eyes on hers, "Sesshomaru's father after a few years of trying to get answers from my father, went to war to avenge his sister and that is how both our fathers died. Great story isn't it?"

"Wait, your father was Ryuukotsusei?" She asked in disbelief, "You were the reason for that battle?"

"Not me," Hiromasa shrugged, as though he were telling just another tale, "family honour. Ryuukotsusei killed Inutaisho's sister, there had to be vengeance."

"I am sorry to hear that, and I see why you would be close to Sesshomaru but that doesn't mean you should hate Inuyasha, I know he can be brash but he is your cousin as well." Kagome would find anyway to defend her friend. To her it was deeply unfair that Inuyasha would find more family, only to have that family despise him as well.

"Weren't you listening?" His said in the condescending manner in which one would use with the person who could not grasp a simple concept, "I have a deep reason to hate usurpers, and Inuyasha is the product of the woman who raised me suffering the same fate and callous disregard as the mother who died to save me. So yes, I have every reason to hate that bastard, and his father, and his mother, which trust me I do." He noticed the bitterness creeping into his voice and quickly pushed it down. He grinned, as though he had not divulged a deeply personal story, "Your turn, if you are going to be part of my family, then we should get to know each other."

Kagome looked at him carefully; for the first time she looked beyond his easy smile and petty teasing, and she saw where his and Sesshomaru's personalities met; they both hid emotions very well, and almost compulsively. Sesshomaru hid his behind an unbreakable mask of composure and disinterest, and he hid his behind jokes.

…..

It was almost afternoon when they finally reached Koga's clan. Kagome could see the wolves gathering underneath the circling figure of the dragon. Hiromasa let a trail of smoke snake out the corner of his lips. "Don't even think about it." Kagome said firmly; she could tell her planned to scare them with fire and although he would have found it funny, she did not see the humour in it. Hiromasa landed a ways away from the wolves and transformed back into his human form just as the head of the wolves came running towards them.

Koga froze at the sight of her. "Kagome?" His words were slow as he tried to make sure it was indeed her. It was, he ran towards her and hugged her tightly, picking her off her feet and spinning her around, "It has been years; where did you disappear to? If I knew you would come back I would never have taken a mate."

"I went home," She laughed, happy to see that somethings never changed. Kouga put her down and sniffed the air,

"Where is the mutt? Did you replace him with this one?" he tilted his head in Hiromasa's direction.

"No, Inuyasha is on his way. We just – "

Her words were cut off by Koga sniffing the air very close to her. He looked confused, and Hiromasa prayed silently that the Wolf Prince would be an idiot and overlook the faint undertone of wolf in Kagome, but there was no such luck. "Kagome, why do you smell like that, like wolf…" Kouga's words were slow because they did not make sense to him himself; he had known her for years and was certain that she was a hundred percent human.

She bit her lip, "I know this sounds crazy, but I was in a bit of trouble and I almost died. This wolf gave me his youki to support my life force and when I recovered the youki just stayed."

Koga furrowed his brows in confusion, "That doesn't make any sense. Is that even possible?"

"Apparently," She was fidgeting now, "His name was Gendo, he said he was your father." She could see the colour drain from Kouga's face. He placed a hand on her shoulder to stabilize himself, and Hiromasa groaned inwardly.

"He is alive?"

His question hit her like a blow to the chest and knocked the wind out of her. She could feel the guilt creeping up her and burning behind her eyelids, pushing her to tears. She shook her head slowly, mournfully, "He died helping me. I am so sorry I failed, I should have been stronger." She bit her lip even harder, ignoring the pain. All she could do was pray he would understand.

Kouga lowered his head and turned away so she would not see the emotions crossing his face, "Heh, typical him. That sounds exactly like something he would do; he was always putting himself in trouble to help others. He was really a pain in the Lord of the East's ass." Kouga straightened his shoulders and forced them to stand firm, he balled his hands into fists to stop them from shaking, "He would not have wanted to come back anyway, not if he knew that our old clan is now just me. What was he like? Where did you meet him?"

Kagome had to relay her whole story to his turned back, because he still refused to let her see him in his moment of weakness. "He asked me to help you anyway I can. He wanted you to become stronger, to become a daiyoukai, to stand up to the Eastern Lord and save the wolves, and I promised I would do anything to help. It is the least I could do." Her words shook with the weight of her unshed tears, but she forced herself to sound as resolute as possible.

"The Lord of the East is not a joke; I can't do that." Kouga was always so self-assured and brazen; she had never heard him utter a word of doubt.

"If you want to, I will help you in any way. I owe your father my life."

Hiromasa put his hand on Kagome's shoulder and nudged her away from the wolf, "Kagome, this is wolf business; I do not think it is wise to interfere."

She looked up at him sharply, her eyes glistening with defiance and determination, "And a wolf _died_ for me. I have already let so many youkai down, I am not about to do that again."

"You do not understand the political repercussions of pledging your support; you are no longer some human running around with no youkai ties. You belong to the West now."

"I belong to no one." She was moving from irritated with Hiromasa, to angry. He was asking her to sit back and do nothing as the East wiped out the wolves for no good reason, to sit down and twiddle her thumbs in the name of politics, to sit back and let more youkai die, as she had done when she escaped the jewel. No. "Tell me, is this the East right in its actions? The North is not led by the most exemplary of youkai, but even they treat their wolves better." She was trying to keep her temper under control; anytime she let go of her mind the wolf youki would surge forward, then her reiki would surge in response and she would be stuck fluctuating between human and youkai for hours.

Hiromasa sighed and let go of her. She was right; he had always held a soft spot for Eastern wolves because of how hopeless their lives could be, but unlike her, he did not have a bleeding heart and Sesshomaru had asked him to make sure she left with no ties with the wolves. "Is it?" She pressed on; still fighting the losing battle to keep her emotions in check. He was about to speak, to try and calm her down when he noticed the bright blue of her eyes and faint burgundy stripes on her cheeks.

"Kagome," he said slowly,

"You are not talking me out of this. I don't just sit back and-"

"Kagome," he grabbed her shoulders firmly. For the first time he noticed the massive amount of youki rolling off her in angry waves. He had missed it because he had assumed it was from Kouga, but Kouga was staring at her with surprised widened-eyes. She was not just a wolf youkai, she was a _daiyoukai_. He let go of her and took a step back; he needed a drink.

"Those are my clan marks," Koga said, not quite believing his eyes. But it had to be; his father had been the first and only wolf daiyoukai; the first to ever earn his marking, and even Ayame had copied the marks out of admiration, but unlike Ayame's Kagome's marking were real.

Kagome froze and looked down at her clawed hands. It had happened again. She looked at Koga, her eyes carefully searching his for a reaction. Would he hate her now that he had seen the truth?

Kouga's cobalt eyes snapped to Hiromasa, "See those markings dragon? She is part of my clan, which means you need to watch your boundaries." After the disappearance of his father the Lord of the East had wiped out every last member of their clan, except him because he wanted him to remember. Heir to the most promising clan of wolves, which was now nothing but a memory. His own clan was new, and struggling, but his father had done it again; he had sent him a way to restore their family pride. Once again, there was a wolf daiyoukai in Japan.

Hiromasa wanted to object. He wanted to find a way to free her from an alliance with the wolves, but he was in a corner and Sesshomaru had neglected to inform him of something very, very important. He felt as though this new found 'clanship' was something he should probably let Sesshomaru know of, but to leave her alone would mean certain death.

It was at this moment that Inuyasha crashed through the trees looking for Kagome. "Oh well just great, really." Hiromasa rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Inuyasha froze at the sight of Kagome. He took in the brilliant ice-blue of her eyes, her markings, and the youki emanating from her. "What the fuck?"

…..

Sesshomaru was more than annoyed when he picked up the scent of his half-brother among the wolves. He landed at the edge of the clearing where the wolves had gathered to enjoy the cool summer night, and immediately they all stood up, their senses screaming for them to be on the alert.

Kagome turned around and noticed him standing there, staring silently at her. She looked at Hiromasa who simply shrugged and looked away; she was going to have to tell him on her own. She motioned to stand up but Inuyasha's hand on her shoulder kept her down. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"You are not really going to that bastard." He said, she could hear the hurt in his voice. Somehow he hoped that if he proved to her that he cared, she would change her mind about Sesshomaru. "I ran all this way for you, and this bastard just has to show up and you are going to leave with him?"

"Inuyasha, I told you…" her words trailed off, failing her. Had he really just pushed their whole fight to the back of his mind and selectively chosen to forget that she was now with Sesshomaru, who was waiting for her?

"Don't be a fool half-breed." Sesshomaru said curtly.

Inuyasha drew out his sword. There was only one way to settle this; a good, old-fashioned battle. "I will fight you for her. If I win, you have to back the fuck off." Sesshomaru looked at his half-brother. Apparently he was a fool after all.

"What?" Kagome said, her voice low and dangerous. She stood up, her eyes were slowly turning a light blue, "I am not some prize that you fight to win. I made a choice Inuyasha."

"I am not giving up," Inuyasha said firmly. There was a time in her life where she had found his stubbornness attractive, but that was a long time ago. "I will do _anything_."

"Would you, perhaps, leave her alone?" Hiromasa drawled.

Inuyasha snapped his head in the dragon's direction and growled, "Stay out of this lackey."

Kagome could feel Inuyasha's youki building in rage, she could see the slight clench in Sesshomaru's jaw that indicated nothing good was about to happen, and she could see Hiromasa's eyes darkening with a long-repressed lust for Inuyasha's blood. She had to stop this before it got very ugly, "Sit!"

Inuyasha was dragged face-first into the ground. She let out a frustrated breath and looked straight at Sesshomaru. He did not say anything; he simply walked away and she followed. She was used to his public persona; the ice prince that never let a sliver of emotions show, but underneath all that she knew he would move mountains for her.

"Are you going to keep travelling with him?" Sesshomaru asked once they were far enough away. She wanted the answer to be yes; she wanted so badly to hold onto their friendship, but deep down she knew she could not just partition their relationship and keep the parts she wanted, not if he wanted more.

"He's stubborn but he will come around." She said, desperately hoping that she believed her own words.

"You are releasing youki, and you smell of wolf. I take it the wolf prince noticed?" He said flatly, as though it were not of any importance.

Kagome nodded.

"And his reaction?" Sesshomaru braced himself; this was either going to be great news, or awful news. Given her track record with trouble, he could foretell which one it would be, he just did not realise how bad the news would be,

"Kouga said I was part of his clan? Could that even be possible?"

It was true. He had simply hoped that she would never find out. "Gendo was part of a clan; you inherited his youki and thus is clan affiliations as well. But you can always go lone."

"What? Why would I? Gendo died to save me, I owe him."

"He used you. He knew giving you his youki would tie you to his clan, would drive you to help them, and thus force me to help them as well. He promised not to tell you about the bond we formed if I pledged my support for the wolves."

That broke her image of the wolf daiyoukai, but her desire to atone for his death still ate at her. "But Kouga is still my friend, and I _want_ to help. And Gendo, still lost his life to save mine. And I already failed so many youkai; I left them behind to be purified, I can't just walk away again. You don't have to get involved; this is my choice." Her youki was growing steadily as she grew angrier and angrier with herself.

"It is not that simple. I am the Lord of the West and I intend to take you as my mate; what you do, you do on behalf of the West." He was still so calm, so collected, so painfully rational.

"What would you do? Not if you were me, but if you were Gendo and were trying to save everything you loved?" She turned her back to him, unable to bear how cold and indifferent he could remain in such a situation. "I think your house has been sitting pretty for centuries, so you don't know what it is like to face extinction and be powerless to stop it. You have so much strength that you don't know what it's like to be helpless. You know, Gendo is the reason I am here right now, he is why we can be together, he is why we can stand here fighting about this. If that's not worth helping his _son_ , a youkai that saved me many times, then…" Her shoulder slumped and the last of her words were more resigned, "I don't care if you help or not, but I will help; it is just the kind of person I am."

He had to face the truth himself; the youki in her was growing stronger, more permanent, and the ease with which her aura changed between youki and reiki was undeniable. Sooner or later, she would be a full wolf in a world determined to eradicate her kind. He placed his hand on her shoulder and when she turned he kissed her on the forehead. He was about to risk everything for one woman. Perhaps he was his father's son after all. _'No, this is different'_ he told himself, _'this is a worthy cause'_. "Indeed it is."

"Wait, wait, _what_ did you just say?" Kagome's frustration had disappeared from her voice and in its place was the slow enunciation that came with disbelief. She had just processed his words and they hit her like a brick.

"You are not going to abandon the wolves; you already feel responsible for them so there is no way I can change your mind."

"No, no, you said you intend to take me as your mate? I knew you were courting me but I didn't know…"

He looked at her; the words had slipped out. The hurdles Sesshomaru had to cross to accept that he wanted to court a human, his half-brother's companion no less, meant that by the time he asked to court her he already knew he wanted to mate her. He had already gained his mother's permission, and was only waiting on Kagome's. "Do you object?"

She felt her heart flutter in her chest. He was standing in front of her, his features set in that infallible patience of his; she could say no and he would not flinch. This was a huge step, to move from courting to accepting that she was definitely going to be his mate. She pushed forward her aura, allowing it to weave past his and reach deep inside him, stopping just short of its destination.

"It's not that easy." Sesshomaru said, he knew she was trying to bond with him and he wished – desperately – that he could allow it, but he was going to give her all the respect he would a noble woman. "You remember when I said we would have to find a way through our courtship on our own?"

"Is there a problem?"

"Before we can go any further, I must present you to my clan." He said,

She could see he was holding back something. It was in the slightest, almost imperceptible shift of his gaze, but she caught it. She folded her arms across her chest and lifted one eyebrow suspiciously, "What else?" Her tone was almost teasing,

"Traditionally you would meet my clan with your family and the leaders of your clan, but you don't have anyone, not in this time." The seriousness in his voice caused the smile that had been tugging at the edge of her lips to fade.

"Koga? Or even Miroku?" She offered,

"No. You are to bring those who raised you." He took her hands in his, "It will be difficult, but you not be truly alone."

She nodded, although she did not exactly know what to expect; she simply chose to trust his words. "In two days I will bring you to the Western Palace to prepare for your presentation to my clan."

She bit her lip nodded, her mind was racing with all the ways this could go wrong. As though he knew exactly what she was thinking, he squeezed her hand reassuringly, "It will be fine. I have made my decision already, this is merely a formality."


	19. End of An Era

**End of An Era**

"I am not fighting anymore; we can't afford to lose any more people."

She was surprised by how hard his words hit her. "You are not?"

Koga rested his arms on his knees and bent forward, allowing his head to hang and the weight of decades of struggling to survive to finally show. "We don't have enough people to fight; too many widows, too many orphans, and I have to take care of all of them." He pressed his hands to his temples and for the first time since she had known him, Koga had no jokes.

"So what are you going to do?" She wanted to make Gendo's sacrifice worth it, and she wanted to make up for her inability to save anyone but Sesshomaru, but the tiredness in Koga's shoulders and the resignation in her voice made it clear that giving a 'pep talk' right now would be nothing short of selfish. Her regrets were her own, and she could not ask Koga to risk everything to give her peace of mind.

"We are slowly moving to the North; there is more security for wolves there. My mating Ayame has made the Northern wolves more accepting, but still we have to be careful not to step on any toes; there is only so much space in the world for us."

She had never seen Koga like this, and had no idea what to do. This was part of the burden of him claiming her as part of his clan; she got to see the loud, cocky Koga at his worst. "You know I meant everything I said yesterday; I will stand with the Eastern Wolves."

He looked at her and smirked, and she let out a sigh of relief at seeing the old Wold Prince back. "Yeah I know you; you are loyal to a fault. That's what we wolves like." Perhaps he was _too_ back.

"Koga," She said in a warning tone, and he laughed.

"It's a joke; I got Ayame now remember? No matter how perfect you are."

Kagome placed her hands on her knees and slouched to match Kouga's defeated posture, "It will all work out in the end, even if things are not so bright right now."

"Kagome!" Inuyasha's voice carried into the clearing and was soon followed by the hanyou leaping through the trees. In a fraction of a second Kouga was sitting tall and proud again, as though he wa invincible.

"Oi mutt-face, if you want to bother Kagome you need my permission first." Koga smirked; he was goading Inuyasha and the hanyou was rising to the bait, "She is part of my clan now and I am alpha."

"Like fuck she is." Inuyasha snapped. He could smell the undertones of wolf in her scent, but he willfully chose to ignore it because he could not make any sense of it. He turned his attention to Kagome and softened his voice, "I found a hot spring nearby. Well, not that near; I still have to take you but it's not too far it I run."

Kagome stared at her longtime friend in disbelief; he was _never_ this considerate. "You went round looking for a hot spring for _me_?"

"Yeah, I know how much you like those stupid baths. Just don't make a big deal of it." He huffed, hoping she would make a big deal.

Kagome looked at him carefully. This was far too considerate for the Inuyasha she knew, "But why?"

"Because the idiot is trying to court you. He thinks it will impress you." Koga laughed, the sole purpose of his words was to annoy Inuyasha as much as possible just because he liked to see him riled, "Trying to steal my woman? Now that's low."

"Shut the fuck up! Don't you have a mate?"

Kagome lowered her eyes to her hands, "Inuyasha…"

"Come on, you can't tell me you are serious about that bastard." Before she could reply he waved her off; he was not quite ready to hear her answer if it was not what he wanted, "Forget it. Look, I found you a hot spring, are you coming or not?"

…

He waited patiently for her. He had been told she had gone off with Inuyasha, and whilst the news made his inner beast simmer with rage, he forced himself to remain calm. The half-breed could try all he wanted, but Kagome had already made her choice and so had he.

He caught her scent before she reached where he was seated. It was fresh, clean, and laced with the feral scent of wolf that had now worked its way into an integral part of her complex scent. She came in on Inuyasha's back and Sesshomaru forced himself to remain composed. He had to remind himself that she was still trying to hold onto her friendship with Inuyasha and was trying to pretend as though nothing had changed.

"Oh just fucking great." Inuyasha growled upon seeing his half-brother waiting at the cave entrance.

"Sesshomaru." Kagome said as she climbed down from her friend's back. Her hair was still wet and clung to her shoulders, "I just need to put down my stuff, I will be back in a minute." She did not need him to speak for her to know he was waiting for her to leave with him; he did not like an audience.

The moment she disappeared into the wolf cave to drop off her things Inuyasha snapped his eyes in Sesshomaru's direction, "You better watch yourself, if you lay a-"

"Be quiet" Sesshomaru cut in, without so much as sparing his half-brother a glance. Inuyasha glared and stormed off, an act that was more of a blessing than an insult because the last thing Sesshomaru wanted to do was suffer the hanyou's presence.

When she returned her eyes fell on the spot where Inuyasha had stood, a brief disappointment flashed in her eyes but she quickly recovered. Looking up at her daiyoukai she smiled, "Ok, I am ready."

Sesshomaru turned and walked away, knowing she was following close behind. It was amazing how easily she let him be himself; she did not demand the public shows of affection he was unable to give, and yet in private she was so generous with the warmth he craved. The moment they were far enough away from prying eyes and ears he turned to face her, the heat in his eyes shocked her and he heard her heart speed up. He pulled her towards him and buried his face in the crook of her neck and kissed her on the collar bone. She smelled of Inuyasha and he was intent of rectifying that.

Savouring the sweet foreign citrus that laced the raw tingle of power seeping through her skin, he murmured "Are you ready to return with me to the Western Palace?" He moved from her neck upwards, stopping to nip lightly at her ear. He heard her let out a low, involuntary moan and smirked to himself, "There are preparations to be done."

He knew he should stop; if he let himself he would mark her, and he refused to mark her like this; not in a clearing in this east with his half-brother and a clan of wolves just out of ear-shot. He growled as he fought with himself, finally with the last bits of self-control he had, he reined in his beast and pulled away. "Do you have any further business with the wolves?"

Kagome bit her bottom lips and cringed as her fangs broke skin. She had still not quite managed to retain control with Sesshomaru. "No. The Eastern wolves are moving to the North; they are done."

"You are disappointed."

"A bit, but I just learnt about this situation, who am I to criticize Koga's choice?" She shrugged, and then looked at Sesshomaru who seemed quite pleased with the news, "I guess this is where I move on, but don't think this means I will turn Koga down if he ever comes to me for help."

"Would you turn down anyone?" His words were flat, but now that she could see deeper than his words, she could tell the pride he felt about her kindness. "Come to the Western Palace; it is time for us to move on."

…..

Her heart was pounding in her chest as she made her way back towards the wolf caves, were it not for the grounding force of her connection with Sesshomaru she was fairly sure she would have turned around.

Sesshomaru, sensing her rising anxiety, placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Inuyasha is not going to be happy about this." She said, leaning into him for support.

"Inuyasha's opinion does not matter in this." He responded flatly. Of course he was right, but she would prefer the support of one of her closest friends, even though she knew he would never give it.

He took his hand off her shoulder and followed her into the lit cave. "Do you have to bring him here?" Inuyasha snapped, turning away from the entrance where he had been waiting for Kagome's return. It hurt that the moment his half-brother showed up she would jump to leave with him, as though she were at his beck and call. But he was also deeply worried about her and could not shake the suspicion that this sudden 'romance' was a ploy to get back at him for simply having the gall to exist as a hanyou attached to his bloodline.

"She can bring whomever she wants," Koga said, he eyes trained on Inuyasha as he enjoyed the hanyou's sulking, "We let you in here didn't we?"

"Shut the fuck up wolf!"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome had to shout to finally get his attention and he looked at her instead of the various sources of his irritation. She took a deep breath and finally spoke, "Would you come with me for a minute?"

He looked at her, confused, but he nodded anyway and followed her. Normally he would not have taken instruction so well, but he was trying to show her he could be different. Better. More mature.

She walked away from the cave for a bit, all the time clasping her hands tightly in front of her. "So what did you need me for?" He asked, a part of him hoping her response would be an apology for even considering his bastard of a half-brother.

"I am going."

"Going where? Back to Sango and Miroku's?" He asked.

"I am going to the Western Palace with Sesshomaru. I told you about this, remember?" She spoke softly, hoping the gentleness in her tone would soften the blow of the news. In truth, it should not have been a shock but he was just so _stubborn_. He was silent, so she forced her eyes from the ground to his face, and what she saw broke her heart.

"You can't do this." His words were pleading. She had never heard him sound this desperate, this broken. "Not with him, not to _me_." When she had first told him about Sesshomaru, he had been furious. For two whole weeks his rage had burnt, hot and unbridled. But eventually he had ran out of anger, and all that stood in its place was a heart wrenching sadness that refused to leave. "Years I ran around Japan like some idiot help you put back pieces of a jewel you broke, years I sat by that stupid well waiting for you. He is never going to do that for you."

"Inuyasha, I know you don't understand. I guess it was a bit silly for me to hope you would, but I lo-"

He took her hand in his, cutting her off midsentence, "This is not what we were promised; this is not what we were supposed to have." His fixed his eyes on her, his hurt was almost tangible, "We braved death Kagome. Even _death_. You can't do this to us, you can't leave again."

"But this is what I want."

"I am different now. I listened to you and to Sango, I thought about it, Kagome. I know I have to be more understanding and more mature, and I am trying. I know how to love you now."

"Inuyasha…" his words were breaking her heart, driving her to tears.

"Kagome," he brushed her hair away, taking in the way the moonlight illuminated the soft lines of her face. "Do you understand how I love? I don't move on. As long as you are alive I will love you. Kikyo was undead and wanted to take me to hell with her, and I still loved her. It's just who I am; when I love someone nothing can change my mind. And I love you."

Wouldn't it have been great if he could have said this to her before the well closed for three years, when she was still young and still held hopes of a future with him. "We can't keep dragging this out; we have to move on."

"Didn't you listen?" he snapped, he was finding his anger again, "I won't move on. I can't; it is just not in me to let things go. I will always be here waiting for you."

She rested both hands on his shoulders and wrapped her fingers around his subjugation beads, and they glowed a faint pink under her touch. He quickly put his hand on hers, stopping her.

"You can't."

She looked into her eyes, and the pain in those golden orbs brought tears to her own eyes. "We have to move on."

"I won't."

She sighed; she was done orienting her life around what he wanted. That was the old Kagome. "I need to move on."

"You can't have it." He said firmly. If she took the beads, then it would really be the end; those beads – as much as he despised them – were all he had of their time travelling together, of the time when she looked at _him_ with eyes filled with love.

Kagome sighed and let go. "I am going Inuyasha. But I promise I will come see you again."

She returned to the wolf cave alone. This time she could not even fault him for running off. No one said a word about the missing hanyou; it was too evident to warrant mention. When she looked at Seesshomaru she felt a lightness in her chest that came from knowing that she had a whole future awaiting her. "Let's go."


	20. Lady Kagome

**Lady Kagome**

The Lord of the East drummed his claws on the table, his eyes narrowed in irritation, his jaws clenched so tightly the spider youkai, who was forced to bring bad news, feared he would pull a muscle. "You are supposed to be head of my spies, yet you cannot follow one little inuyoukai pup?"

The lizard youkai flinched. The Lord of the West was far from a 'little inuyoukai pup'. Yes, he was very young for a Landed Lord, and yes, it had been just over a quarter of a century since he took the throne, but the inudaiyoukai was frightening in his power.

"This dog had visited the wolves three times in the past three days," The Eastern Lord's voice grew louder with every word, any louder and the room would shake. Bears were not known for their soft tempers. "In three days you could find nothing?"

"Lord Kumakichi, Lord Sesshomaru is extremely-"

"Do not give me excuses or you and your family will decorate my dungeon walls." Kumakichi snapped. The lizard swallowed his words. "The wolves will not rest till they sit on this throne; till they ravage my lands and destroy everything in their wake, and you stand here and try to give excuses."

"Lord Ryuichi sent word." The lizard bowed deeply, hoping that his lord would not, in a fit of rage, decide that this was the best moment to decapitate him.

Kumakichi slumped in his chair. He despised the dragons and their wily ways. But he also despised the dogs and their arrogance, and the badgers running around in the south as though life were a joke. He waved his hand, indicating for the useless spy in front of him to continue.

"He wishes to deliver this news in person."

Kumakichi's eyes widened in surprise, "The Lord of the North is here?" The North was secretive, and the Northern Lord's visits were extremely rare and far between. Not like there was any need for meetings; the East had long since cut ties with the North in favour of the West. Ryuukotsusei's and Inutaisho's deaths had been devastating blows to both lands, but West had recovered whilst the North chose to turn into itself. "Send him in."

He watched, not quite certain what could bring the reclusive Northern lord out of hiding. "Greetings Lord Kumakichi." The Lord said as he was ushered into the large office. He was a stocky young man with bright green eyes, and he never broke eye contact, not even as he sat down. "I know you are wondering the reason for the sudden visit."

"Among other things." The bear growled. He had never been a fan of dragons and their far too intense stares.

"Well, I came to personally deliver the news that it seems the Western Lord plans to take a human mate. Ironic, isn't it?"

Under other circumstances Kumakichi would have laughed, but he was too preoccupied with the West's sudden fondness of wolves to see the humour in the situation. "The pup is as foolish as his father. Does that line seek to bring the West to ruin?" He frowned, were it not for the North's sickening decision to protect their wolves, he would have thrown his lot in with the older house.

"This human is the shikon miko, and she has been closely allied with the wolves for years. Word is, Prince Koga personally helped her find and put together the shattered shikon jewel."

"That mutt is not a prince!" Kumakichi slammed his fist on the desk so hard a few of his scroll fell off. He placed both hands on his desk and leaned forward. A miko? The _shikon_ miko? It had to be false; no miko would so much as touch a demon, talk less of the shikon miko agreeing to bind herself for eternity to one. The dragons must have gone mad in their palace in the mountains. "Don't be foolish; a miko and a youkai?"

The Northern lord grinned. The news sounded silly to even him, like a childish 'what if', but that was the truth. "The _shikon_ miko?" Kumakichi pressed on. He had heard of her; years ago she had formed a close alliance with the Eastern wolves and he had kept his eyes trained on her ever since, that was until she disappeared three years ago. He did not know what to think or what to believe; the whole situation was getting more ridiculous by the moment.

"Yes, and the Lord of the West. You do know members of your eastern wolves call her 'sister'." Ryuichi's lips curled into a devilishly mocking smile. The Eastern Lord dug his claws into the table until the wood began to splinter, and crack. He needed answers. He glared at the lizard trembling in the corner, hoping the lord had forgotten about him,

"Fetch me a scribe."

"You should have known; dogs and wolves are more or less the same anyway." Ryuichi leaned forward, "But we dragons could not care less; we tolerate our wolves because we have no reason not to. If you give us a reason to, we will help you rid Japan of their menace."

"And what reason would that be?" Kumakichi frowned,

"The West must fall. We will reclaim the land that is rightfully ours."

….

She was scared. No, petrified; scared would be an understatement of what she was going through. She found herself wishing that Shippo was with her, but instead he had gone with Hiromasa to fetch Rin, and so she was stuck more or less alone in a palace filled with staff that actively avoided her. She sighed and refocused on one of the many scrolls Sesshomaru had picked out for her to read. She was supposed to – in just three days – learn about the youkai political climate, the history of the Western lands, and youkai customs and traditions.

She had barely read three sentences when she let her eyes travel to the young, golden haired youkai standing quietly in the corner. She had been assigned to her by Sesshomaru himself to educate her in all the necessary ways, but her unease at being the presence of the shikon miko herself, rendered her near useless. It would only be much later that she would learn just how rudimentary her control over her own powers were. "Tell me something, Azami, right?"

The golden haired woman stepped forward with a grace that could rival Sesshoumaru's. She was almost too yellow and for a moment Kagome thought she was a gold statue come to life with her deep tanned skin indicating foreign origin, perfectly braided gold hair that hung over her left shoulder, light yellow eyes and gold and brown clothing. She bowed to Kagome, a gesture the soon to be Lady of the West was still just becoming accustomed to. "I am at your service My Lady."

"Kagome." She corrected for what had to be the hundredth time. She rested her chin in her hand in a very unladylike fashion and blew a stray strand of dark hair out of her face. "How bad is it exactly that Sesshomaru chose a human? I have read all about the youkai presentation ceremonies, but it doesn't seem like being a human truly bars me from anything important."

"It is the implications that matter." Azami said, her words faltered; she was desperately seeking a way not to insult the future Lady of the West, "Human are not as… durable? As youkai. A weak mate is a chink in a youkai's armor, and as you might have read the West has opted out of formal defense alliances."

"Yeah, that was bothering me too," Kagome turned so she was more properly facing her assigned tutor, "Why don't you have any formal defense alliances?"

Azami bowed again, "Lady Sadako, during her reign, did not trust the North nor did she trust the East. When Lord Sesshomaru took command of these lands he agreed with her choices; given the previous proclivity of those two lands for violence, and the understandable resentment of the two lands given that West was expanded by carving significant parts of the East and the North. In terms of the South, the Western ruling house has always had close personal ties with the South and so there was no need for such formality – not that the South would ever get round to the paperwork."

Kagome laughed at the latter part of her sentence and the dryness in her tone as he criticized the South, but just as quickly as the humour crept into Azami's voice it disappeared and she continued, "The last Lord of the West took too fondly to a human, and his enemies used that weakness against him. The fear is you will be the downfall of the West."

The smile that had just been growing on Kagome's lips instantly died and she gripped the fabric of her yukata tightly, "Ah, ok." She was having second thoughts; she cared deeply for Sesshomaru but if she would cause so much trouble just by being who she was, then perhaps it would be best if she –

"My Lady?" Azami's surprised voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked at her sharply. She had not noticed herself slowly losing control, and now her hidden youki had sprung to the surface. The eagle youkai was not walking towards her carefully, her curiosity getting the better of her, "Are you demon or human? How is the possible?"

Kagome forced herself to quickly suppress the youki. "I don't know, it is complicated."

"May I?" Azami said slowly, opening her hands with her palm faced upwards. All these days of solitude made Kagome craved friendship and she willingly obliged, relishing the physical contact that had been so sparse. "Just relax, stop controlling your aura and just let me see."

What washed over Azami was blindingly powerful and she strained under the pressure. _She is not the way weakness will enter the West_ , Azamii thought to himself as he examined her aura. She parsed through the reiki and youki, and what she saw shocked him; Kagome's aura was turning from holy to demonic. There was no store of youki simply sitting in her; rather it was a part of her that was now fighting for recognition. She let go of her hand.

"What?" Kagome asked innocently,

"I don't know how this happened to you, but if you want to control it you have to let lose some of the demonic pressure building up inside you." She could see from the look she was giving her that the Lady was still slightly confused, "You can't suppress all the youki otherwise it will grow restless and force its way out; you have to have a part of it permanently free, if only a little. Same thing with your reiki; you must let out both parts of you."

"But what does that make me? What of my holy powers?" She was beginning to look concerned,

"Which ever part you let dominate is what you will be. You can go either way, miko or youkai, at will." Azami was staring at her as though looking at some rare specimen just dying to be catalogued,

"How do you know all this? Even Sesshomaru didn't know."

"I live to learn, in my own time I travel the world seeking knowledge. I actually study under the Lady Sadako – Lord Sesshomaru's mother but I have never encountered anything like you. You could be whatever you want so just pick one, wolf or human, it doesn't matter; both are equally bad for these lands." He was still staring at her with unashamed intrigue,

Kagome was fighting the urge to hit her. She was smiling, which was on some level good because the effusive bowing and 'My Lady' were gone, but she was acting as though telling her she was disastrous for the West was a joke. "Do you think this is funny? You don't care about the West?"

Azami's smile faded and she gave Kagome an even, almost bored look, "I trust My Lord, don't you? If war comes it will be hard, but we will win as we always do." Immediately she felt silly for questioning her. "My clan has served the West since these lands were conquered by the great dogs of the undying moon clan, nothing can shake my faith. I will serve till I die."

She feeling of silliness grew into shame. "I am sorry I questioned you." She bowed. Azami reached for her quickly and straightened her posture,

"No, No, My Lady you do _not_ apologize to a lesser." She said firmly.

"Why?"

"You are to be the Lady of the West; the West never bows to anyone and neither should you." Kagome noted the panic in her voice and bowed again, when she tried to reach for her she put up a barrier between them, "What are you doing? Lord Sesshomaru will have my head."

"My name is Kagome, not My Lady." She said firmly, hoping she could use her stubbornness to earn herself at least one friend. Azami looked around, almost in a panic, who was this person his Lord had brought back?

"Ok, would you please stop bowing _Kagome_." She practically whispered her name. Kagome straightened her posture and smiled brightly at him,

"Now was that hard?"

….

Sesshomaru looked up from the scroll, his eyes somehow even more icy than usual. His claws turned a bright green and the paper disintegrated, the scraps falling onto the table. "The insolence." Sesshomaru growled. The note was nothing more than a thinly veiled, condescending attempt by the East to threaten him, Lord Sesshomaru, for simply having visited the Eastern Wolves.

"What reply should I send?" Akemi asked, unfazed by the inudaiyoukai's violent response to the note.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes and brushed singed scrap of paper into a neat pile. The foolish bear had threatened _him_ , as though the West had an obligation to anyone. He was strongly considering sending no response. "Write to Lord Kumakichi saying 'the wolves were pleasant'."

Akemi nodded. She would have no choice but to send the terse insult.

"What else?"

She put a second scroll in front of the inudaiyoukai, "There was a message from Lady Sadako concerning the miko she-"

"Akemi," Sesshomaru snapped, his voice terse with annoyance, "Do not tell this Sesshomaru that you are incapable of discerning between importance and rubbish. Are you incapable of simple tasks in your sister's absence?" He brushed the scroll aside, piling it with the burnt remains of the letter from the East.

The golden haired youkai bit down his shame. Of course his twin would get the easier task of instructing the new Lady, whilst he got stuck with their testy Lord. Perhaps he too should have chosen books over the swordsmanship.

….

By the time Sesshomaru finally pried himself out of his office it was already dark. He walked straight to Kagome's room; he had decided they would have separate quarters for the time being so he would not be tempted to do something absolutely stupid. He opened the door to find his intended being wrapped in layer upon layer of rich purple silk. She did not have a clan to have clan colours, so this must have been of her own choosing and, in all honesty, she looked divine in purple.

"I hope you know I am going to trip in this." Kagome smiled, happy to have his soothing aura so close to her. He noted the permanent lighter blue of her eyes, and the steady pulse of youki flowing at the very base of her aura. There no fluctuation, no internal struggle to keep herself in check; she was simply balanced.

"You did something to your aura?" He asked as he took a seat on the futon in her room. He noted the golden haired woman wrapping Kagome in the kimono was not a handmaid, but part of his own head of staff.

"Azami helped me," Kagome said brightly, her eyes flashing a beautiful sky blue, "She knows a lot. She also said she studied under your mother, and now I am really curious as to what the woman who raised you is like."

"She can appear perfectly charming, but do not let that deceive you; that woman has claws, poisonous ones." He looked at Kagome with serious, even eyes, "And she will test you. You must hold your own, but be respectful."

She did not need to speak for him to see her uncertainty. She was trying to hide it, trying to be strong, but he could read her too well. "Leave us." He said to Azami who stood up instantly, bowed to her Lord and Lady, and left. He looked at Kagome and his eyes softened lovingly, "There is nothing to fear; this is merely a formality."

"But, I am human and that's seen as weakness…" she said softly, allowing her voice to trail off. She was full of so much self-doubt that at times he found it tiring.

"Yes you are human, but that is not a problem; _weakness_ is the problem. But you are far from weak; would never cower in a corner whilst I tried to protect you, and do nothing but whimper like a child forcing me to divide my attention between your crying and my opponent" He said reassuringly. She took a guess at where he got such imagery from,

"Is that what happened with your father and Inuyasha's mother?"

Sesshomaru clenched his jaw tightly and she knew she had said something wrong. "Yes, she could barely defend herself from even a low level youkai, and her weakness ultimately became his." His eyes turned hard as ice, "You must never mention Izayoi or Inuyasha, especially when in the presence of my clan."

Kagome tilted her head slightly, intrigued by his harsh reaction. "My father was a great general; he expanded the Western lands appreciably, but my mother was the heir to the Western lands, it was through marriage with her that he could become Lord. Part of that arrangement was that the first child would belong to my mother's clan. My crescent marks me a part of the undying moon clan, and thus heir to the Western lands. Izayoi knew he was a mated man, yet still she – a supposed princess – chose to debase herself and insult my clan in the process."

Kagome's eyes widened, realization dawning upon her. His father had married a princess and then brazenly taken another woman. Now _that_ was an insult. "Why didn't your mother break off the mating?" Now she could understand the hate for Izayoi, and the quiet disdain for his father but she could still not see why Inuyasha had to suffer.

"Because no one would accept an unmated female as a ruler, unless her mate died and she was holding the seat for the next heir. My father would not break it off because he would lose his lordship. That is why tomorrow you are to meet my mother's clan, not my father's; her house rules the West. As Lord of the West I belong to her house."

Kagome nodded. Biting her lip nervously, suddenly Sesshomaru's and Hiromasa's disdain for Izayoi made a lot more sense. Lady Sadako had been used for her rank and then tossed aside for another, in some ways Kagome felt that on a very personal level. "But what did Inuyasha ever do wrong?"

She saw something she had never seen before in his eyes: resignation. "He was born. I am aware that it is no fault of his, but youkai hold extremely long and deep grudges."

Kagome looked hurt and angry, and Sesshomaru immediately noticed the signs of impending stupidity, "Do not think about it." He said firmly. She looked at him with that angry defiance and shook her head,

"It's not fair. He never had a chance at a family, at respect? Not even if he did become a full youkai? I know humans hate him for being half demon, but your family hates him for being _him_."


End file.
